The Genie
by autumnassassin
Summary: Harri ends up being screwed over by the ministry and some of her closest friends. She's then bound to an old lamp and tossed into the Veil. After being passed around for years, she ends up being dumped unceremoniously unto one Naruto Uzumaki. Things won't be quite the same by the end. Based on Tsume Tuki's prompt "Ain't Never Had a Friend like Me."
1. Chapter 1

Prompt response of Tsume Yuki's "Aint Never Had A Friend Like Me". So, I realize that it has already been taking up by another person officially, but I was bored, so I decided to write this bit out. I don't know when I'll update, I'm terrible at that, so please don't send me too many annoying messages to update. I hope I can do the prompt justice though!

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Harri always knew she was cursed. Ever since the Dursley's where she had been forced to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs for the first 11 years of her life, she knew that she had the worst luck ever. She found out she was a witch and had thought that maybe her cursed luck would change, but nooo! She had to be sorted into bloody Gryffindor, all because some crack-pot old fool was worried she's become Dark somehow by going to Slytherin. Barmy old man. She had managed to get around it at least, with Blaise, Draco, and Daphne, but trying to escape the clingy Gryffindor's was madness. At least the Weasley twins had been a blessing in disguise. Man had those two been absolute saints.

Sixth year may have just been the best year of her life when she decided to date Blaise. Secretly of course. Because Dumbledore couldn't go around having his precious weapon dating a potential Death Eater, oh no. Of course not. Not that she gave a flying monkeys butt what he thought of course.

Harri had thought that after she had finally managed to defeat Voldemort, standing there covered in dust, grime, blood, bruises, and the remnants of Nagini, that she would finally get some peace. That she would be able to enjoy her life. After all, she had the Deathly Hallows, and Death had taken a bit of a shine to her for some reason. _She'd be able to leave England!_

But then the ministry had to go and screw things up all over again! Not ten minutes after she had finally 'vanquished the Dark Lord', ministry officials had been all over the scene and rushed her away to the ministry under the heaviest magic dampers they could find. Although Harri had taken great pride and joy in still being able to knock some away.

Her trial had been a farce. A complete and utter sham. Harri had stood there in disbelief as some of the people who she had thought friends stand up and tell the ministry officials that she was going _Dark_. _Dumbledore _stood there and preached for a good two hours, listing every little thing that somehow made her a _Dark_ person.

Perhaps the worst blow had been Daphne. Her best girl-friend who she had shared every little secret with, including how much she had liked Blaise, stood in front of the judges and laid out everything that Harri had ever told her and spun it in the worst way possible. That she had been the one to first bring to the ministry attention that she was now the Master of Death, that had been the worst betrayal. And she knew that as soon as Daphne said it, just based on the reactions from the court, that Harri's cursed luck was about to continue and make her life even worse.

As she stood there in all her iciness, Harri's eyes roamed the crowd, looking for the two people she could hopefully count on to at least attempt to get her out. She was met with the very pale face of Draco. When she finally caught his eyes, pleading. He had looked up to his left and away and Harri realized that as much as he wanted to, he physically couldn't. There standing just behind him stood his father in all his pride. One hand was clamped on Draco's shoulder in a way that Harri could tell was painful even from this distance. When she sent him another look, a look for Blaise, Draco's eyes squeezed shut painfully. Even with all the restraints on Harri, she could still read Draco like an open book on the rare occasions where he permitted it. And right now, Blaise was apparently tied up out of the country, no doubt trying to smooth out any rough patches with his mother and whoever was her new husband. Harri had met at least three husbands in the short time Harri had known the older woman. It meant Blaise would probably never get back in time to stop this.

"The prisoner won't be killed. We owe her too much to simply kill her." One of the judges said, leaning forward in his seat to study Harri closely. With a painful start, Harri realized it was Lord Greengrass. She looked deeply into his eyes to try and find the kind man she had met underneath, but there was nothing in there. As she stared and he continued, "If we were to simply kill her, think of the retribution from other countries. They have all expressed interest in her, for one reason or another. To find out we simply killed her or stuck her in Azkaban they would be all over us." There! A tiny flicker of emotion deep inside. With an internal nod, Harri accepted that he was fighting for her, in the smallest way he could.

"Lord Greengrass, there is nothing else we can do then." Another judge, some woman, said hesitantly, looking at the small girl in front of her painfully, "We'd have to let her go and…" there was an instant uproar form the people watching at that and the unnamed woman flinched, "No one here wants that."

_Hem, Hem._ Those two sounds made every muscle in Harri freeze and wish that she could just disappear, anyone but her! Harri would rather take on Voldemort again than The Toad!

"I have a solution." There was an increase in mutterings around the room as everyone stared at the hated toad woman. That was something everyone could agree on at least, "I recently came into an interesting inheritance. Among said inheritance was an interesting lamp, I believe it founded those hideous muggle stories."

_Lamp? Like in Aladdin? _Harri thought incredulously. She vaguely remembered Dudley watching something similar on the Telly not too long ago, but most of the plot line escaped her. Something about a blue thing and an old lamp.

"I propose we bind her to it, as punishment." There was a sickly smile on her face as she spoke, and Harri knew something else was going on in that twisted mind. But, binding? That was something serious. Harri felt a pang of loss at the reminder of her godfather and all his horrible puns before forcibly turning her thoughts back to the present. It seemed she had missed something, something vitally important because everyone looked thoughtful and Draco looked panicked.

"Do it." One of the judges said unsympathetically. Then the call was repeated, over and over all around the room. And then, before Harri could even begin to respond, she felt it. The pull on her magic, on her very life source was draining, and it felt like everything was put into sharp contrast, her vision increasing as everything became sharper in focus before suddenly, like a vacuum, she could almost see herself being sucked into the lamp that The Toad pulled out. The last thing she saw was Draco's pale face before everything went black.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

The first person to release her wasn't very surprising. Draco's worried face transformed into relief at seeing her alive and well.

He hurriedly embraced her, "I don't have a lot of time. I wish I had more. Basically, whoever opens the lamp has somewhat of a bit control over you, but not really considering you're the Master of Death, whatever that entails. Perhaps that will free you from the obligations. I honestly don't know. Umbridge was guessing with most of the lamps proper properties are I bet." He said rapidly as he kept glancing over his shoulder while still holding onto her shoulders, "I tried so hard to get ahold of Blaise. So hard Harri." He said as tears started dripping down his face.

Harri managed a wobbly smile as she felt a single tear make its way down, "Don't cry for me. Live for me. Please." She said as she hugged him again.

"Draco. Hurry, its wearing off." a hissed voice said. Harri wasn't too surprised to see Lord Greengrass standing there as the guard, "I am so sorry for my daughter's actions Harri. She will be dealt with." He said sincerely when he caught her eye before giving her a sad smile and concentrating on the door in front of him.

"They are going to throw the lamp into the Veil. I tried Harri, I'm so sorry." Draco whispered brokenly on her shoulder.

Harri pulled away with a sad smile, "Live for me." She repeated as she looked into his eyes. She closed her own and rested her forehead against Draco's, "Tell Blaise I loved him." She whispered before pulling away and giving him one last sad smile. Draco managed one last try at a smile before he apologized as he sent her back into the lamp.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Harri was aware in the lamp, but it was more of a muted awareness. Perhaps if she had a reason to listen she would, but Harri couldn't bring herself to care very much. She could tell almost instantly when she passed through the Veil, her breath left her as she shivered momentarily.

That was the moment of course when Death decided to show up.

"Oh, there you are! I could have used your help a long time ago." Harri said irritably as she woke herself up a bit more to examine the faceless deity.

"I only visit you when you have experienced Death. Most mortals do not enjoy my presence." Death said in a low raspy voice, vaguely sounding more like a male than a female. Although that could have just been Harri's imagination.

"If I'm dead, why are you here?" Harri asked as she watched him float around her small space in what could be consider curiosity.

"You cannot die." At seeing her disbelieving expression, he held up one of his long thin hands, "Let me rephrase. You cannot die from a mortal wound. The Veil of Death counts as a mortal wound. Instead, you will come out in a new world. Seeing as you are now bound to this lamp, you will not be able to leave the area without it. However, seeing as you are my Master now, you will not be restricted like others would be. You still have your free-will."

"Why can't I unbind myself then?" Harri asked as she started to search for her magic to break out of the lamp.

"You cannot. It is a part of the lamp's design, the person inside cannot break the binding. Someone else of considerable power has to be the one to do it. And seeing as how I am bound to you, I am not available to do it myself. I trust you can take care of yourself though. I also do not know where you will come out. There are many worlds which you may end up in, so prepare yourself. You may end up travelling between the worlds as well." Death instructed his young mistress in that same raspy tone before he slowly disappeared.

Harri stared at the spot he had been standing in, feeling a nervous tick start to twitch above her left eyebrow as she took on what Death had said. Then she felt her frustration pour out of her and fill the small bottles as she started swearing up a storm.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Over the years, Harri wound up in several interesting hands, none of which could elicit any sort of response from her beyond the customary summon and examination. Most failed once they picked up the lamp and so Harri didn't even bother to come out.

Harri estimated she had aged at least two years based on when she was out of the stupid lamp, but it had been many years on the outside. Plus the fact that she kept 'world-jumping' as she know called it.

When she felt herself get picked up again after being tossed through yet another portal, Harri started grumbling as she prepared herself. What she heard though surprised her, and Harri could tell that the kid who had picked her up was something of a kindred soul. So it was with a smile that Harri greeted her new Summoner, a smile that turned into a bemused one as she examined the kid in front of her at his first question.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"So, so you're like a Genie?!"

Staring back at the figure before him, Naruto Uzumaki took a moment to look back on the last ten minutes.

He'd been in the streets of Konoha, not the main streets because that's where all the glares came from. Well, not all of them, just most. And then, and then someone had thrown a lamp at him! An old, scratched up tin thing that Naruto honestly hadn't thought existed outside of the story books.

He'd scampered home, not really logging the fact that he was clutching at the tin decoration until he was sat up to his kitchen table and staring at the dirty surface. The idea had teased at him, half remembered from a story long ago, but the more he stared at his newest, useless item, the more the thought refused to leave.

While the vast majority of his mind had insisted that this was a stupid thing to do, a small, hesitantly hopeful, part sent his heart throbbing for reasons unknown.

So it was a great surprise when a form of mystic smoke began to gather from the tip of the lamp when he had given it a little rub. Staring at the figure with all the wonderment a twelve year old orphan could possible possess, Naruto didn't even bother to fight the grin that split across his face. A young woman stared back at him, a bemused little smile upon her face.


	2. Chapter 2

"A Genie, huh?" Harri said in amusement as she looked over the small kid in front of her. He was wearing what had to be the most outrageous colour scheme, bright, glaring orange. He had bright yellow hair as well, along with blue eyes. In fact, everything about the kid screamed, look at me, and Harri found it a bit difficult to keep the snickers from slipping out.

"Yeah! Like in all the stories! I rubbed your lamp so I get wishes! Right, right!" his enthusiasm made him start to bounce up and down in his spot as he looked at her.

Harri's smile grew a bit, "Sort of. I decide whether I like you or not, and I choose how many wishes you get." at least, that was what she had decided for herself years ago anyways. Because she was Master of Death, at least in her own world, she wasn't bound by the same rules. She had to grant wishes, yes. But thankfully, she had a lot more range with it. The most she had ever given was two before she got tired of the Summoner and quit, going back to her lamp.

"Really? So you could give me a ton of wishes?!" he said, his voice starting to rise as he did a little dance around his small apartment.

"If I wanted to. However, I haven't said yes yet." Harri said, amused for once by the kids actions.

Instantly though, his enthusiasm disappeared and he turned to look at her fearfully, "What would make you say no?" he asked in a small voice.

Harri's smile disappeared as she looked away uncomfortable, "Depends. Usually people making the wrong sort of wishes. That sort of stuff. But, I doubt you're one of those types of people. You're too…bright." She finished lamely. Kids were one area where she struggled with. She had no idea how to deal with a potentially upset kid.

The kid seemed to be bipolar though, because instantly, his fearful air disappeared as he got excited again, "Great! So you can make me Hokage then! Then everyone will like me and respect me!" he started his excited dance again and Harri couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her.

He stopped and looked over at her, a smile on his face, "So, so, can I ask a wish yet?"

Harri gave a half-shrug, "I guess. I may not grant it though. I don't just grant wishes willy-nilly you know. I like to make people work for their goals. What's your name kid?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And I'm going to become Hokage!" he shouted, pointing to himself.

Harri laughed, "Good to meet you Naruto. What's a Hokage?"

Naruto's mouth dropped open as he stared at her in utter disbelief, "You don't know who the Hokage is? Why not?!"

Harri gestured to her clothes, "Do I look like I'm from around here? I've been stuck in that lamp for a long time; clothing style changes a lot every time I come out." Harri was still wearing the athletic shorts and t-shirt she had been wearing when she had battled Voldemort, although one of her past Summoners had been thoughtful enough to get her a new pair of shoes (a pair of nice, sturdy black work boots that clashed terribly with her outfit, but had lasted against a lot worse) after the old ones had been destroyed by an overeager teenager looking to prove himself. Something about restoring his honour. Harri had quickly retreated back into her lamp from that one.

"You don't look that weird! You look pretty!" Naruto said, then clapped his hands over his mouth and looked away.

Harri snorted, "Sure kid. Whatever you say." She said amusedly, ruffling Naruto's hair. He pushed her hand away with a good-natured scowl on his face.

"Do you want to meet him? The Old Man is really cool! Plus, I bet he can give me some great advice for my wishes! Could I wish for ramen?" Naruto asked eagerly, his eyes lighting up at the mention of his favorite food.

Harri barely remember ramen from when she wasn't bound to the lamp, and wasn't sure what the big deal was. It hadn't been very good, but then again, Harri was used to the rich food of Hogwarts, so who knows, maybe they actually had decent food here, "I can't make food appear out of nothing. Sorry kiddo." Harri said with a half shrug.

Naruto groaned loudly, "What do I wish for then? You've said no to my two wishes in the whole world. What can I wish for then?"

Harri gave him a smile, "It's not like there's a time limit. You can wait. It's not that big of a deal to me. My rules for wishes are I can't make food, I won't bring anyone back to life, and I won't make anyone fall in love with someone else."

"Those are easy rules!" Naruto shouted, jumping up and raising his fist in the air, "I just need to pass the exam!" then he froze and looked over at Harri, "Could that be one of my wishes? For you to make me into genin and pass the test?"

"When is this test?"

Naruto shrugged, "Not for a while I think. Iruka-sensei never said exactly. But could you, could you? Then I wouldn't have to study at all and you could do it for me!" Naruto seemed really excited for his idea, but when he turned to look at Harri, he was surprised to see her sitting on his couch with a frown on her face. She was looking off into the distance, not even paying attention to Naruto anymore.

"You want me to cheat for you?" she finally said slowly, a finger tapping against her chin as she thought.

"Yeah! Because you're a Genie and you can grant wishes!" Naruto said, but he lacked most of his earlier enthusiasm as some of her previous words drifted back to him. _Only if I want to._

For a minute, Harri just sat there thinking, one finger tapping out a slow rhythm that only Harri knew. She seemed lost in her thoughts, but Naruto didn't want to disturb her in case she decided that she also didn't like him and retreat back to her lamp.

"I'll make you a small deal." She said abruptly, "Show me around your town for a day or so, and introduce me to this Old Man of yours, and then we'll see. Deal?" then Harri stuck out a hand for him to shake on and seal the deal.

Naruto waited perhaps a nanosecond before enthusiastically shaking her hand before dropping it, "I want you to meet the Old Man! Come on!" Naruto grabbed Harri's thin wrist and started to pull her along after him, but Harri slipped her hand out of his.

"Naruto, grab my lamp will you? I don't like to leave it lying around when I already have a Summoner." She said, holding her arms close to her body in hope that Naruto wouldn't grab her again. Even though Harri knew he didn't mean anything, spending her life on the run, be it literally or metaphorical, touching was reserved only for those who had her complete trust. Naruto was a good kid, but not one she would trust her life with. Plus, he had to hold the lamp.

"Huh? Summoner? What's that?" Naruto asked as he went and picked up her lamp, examining it before shoving it in one of his seemingly invisible pockets. Harri eyed the general are where he put it, but didn't move to ask for it. It wasn't like she could touch it anyways.

"You are. The person who is in charge of my lamp is my Summoner." Harri explained in, hopefully, simple terms for Naruto to understand without asking a lot of details. Details that Harri wasn't willing to share yet. And hopefully never would.

"Cool! Now, let's go!" he shouted, before running towards his door. He stood there a moment, looking back at her, "I suppose since you're not in ninja training, you can't run at the same pace as me?"

Harri shrugged, "Probably not kid. Go slow. Also, most people won't be able to see me. To avoid looking weird, I would suggest waiting until we get to wherever we are going before you start chatting my head off."

"Why can't people see you?" Naruto asked, his head tilting to the side as he stared at her with familiar eyes. Eyes she had seen when looking in the mirror. So, he was alone as well, and was probably shunned for something that he had no control over.

Harri gave a half-hearted shrug, "They just can't. I can make myself invisible, but most times I don't need to because they already don't see me. They have to believe in the power of the lamp or something like that before they can see me. I've gotten used to it."

He stayed silent a moment before perking up, "Want to help me on a prank then? I bet you're awesome at pranking!"

For the first time in a while, Harri let herself truly laugh, "Kid, you sure are something. I can help in some pranks sure. It's been a long time since I've been pranking." Unbidden, the thought of a pair of gingers rose up to the front of her mind before Harri viciously shoved those memories away. She had spent too long in the lamp agonizing over her past. She wasn't about to waste the time outside of her lamp as well.

Naruto watched the strange girl in front of him in curiosity; he could see she was upset, but since his interactions with others typically had them mad or something similar, he had no idea what to do. So instead, he went for the next best thing.

"I know! I'll take you to Ichiraku's! They have the best ramen around! And then, I'll take you to the Old Man, then, we are going to set off some awesome pranks! Come on!" Naruto said confidently before grabbing her wrist again, taking care to have a loose hold on it. Naruto wasn't stupid; he hadn't not noticed how she had pulled away from his grip as soon as she could. Instead, he went for a looser hold as he pulled her out the door and outside. Trying to convey the fact he wasn't the threat.

He remembered her words about being invisible to others, so to avoid the villagers looking at him with more scorn than usual, Naruto didn't say anything as he raced to his favorite place, praying that Teuchi would be able to see his new friend so he wouldn't look like a freak and so she could enjoy some of the gods food: ramen!

As he slowed to a stop in front of the ramen stand, Naruto looked back at her with worry evident in his eyes before being replaced by sheer determination. Harri was a bit startled by the amount she saw in his eyes, but kept her opinions to herself as he led her in.

Harri could immediately tell that this man was different from all the others that they had passed by on their way here. He actually looked at Naruto and smiled at him, so much better than the other people who had barely looked at him at all, or worse, shot such hatred at the small boy Harri was surprised he wasn't drowning in his own sorrow. Then again, she had seen his personality back at his apartment, and knew that he was one of the almost insufferable types that were always optimistic. Harri looked around the small stand with a keen eye, looking for anything hidden that might become a danger to her or to Naruto. Already, Harri could feel the Summoner bind sinking into him, even if the boy didn't know it yet. That was a good sign at least; usually it took longer before the magic decided it liked a person.

"Ah, I see you have a friend with you." an old man's voice said. For a moment, it didn't register what he had said before Harri whipped her head around fast enough to crack her neck to face the old man who had spoken. He was looking at her with a kind smile, and Harri had to check behind her to see if anybody was standing behind her.

No one was, and Harri felt her shoulders start to tense as she stared at the old man in front of her. No one could just see her; that was one of the rules of the lamp in the first place!

He looked her straight in the eyes for a moment before sliding his gaze over to an exuberant Naruto, "Will it just be the normal then? Plus one for your friend?"

"I knew you would be able to see her! Since you were the one to first tell me the story, I knew you would be able to! And, yes! I want the normal!" Naruto shouted, pumping his fist in the air before turning to Harri seriously, "Teuchi here was the one who first told me the story of the Genie, he even said it was a girl in the lamp and not a guy like most other stories, so I knew he would be able to see you!"

Harri's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the man closer. He made eye contact with her and Harri was about to slip into his mind when he looked down. At her shoes Harri realized.

"Yeah. My old friend once told me how he found an old lamp that summoned a girl, a girl a lot older than us who could grant wishes. He showed me once, using his wish on a new pair of shoes to match her." He chuckled at the memory, "Then he went off on a great adventure, he sent back lots of letters filled with his travels around the nations. He once mentioned losing the lamp, but didn't seem too upset about it."

A young boy rose to mind, about seven. Now Harri remembered him. She had thought his wish was odd, considering most people didn't wear shoes similar to them at all, but had granted it anyway. Harri vaguely remembered being thrown away by him, but couldn't remember most of the details. He probably started wishing for more aggravating things anyway.

"Anyway, best not to dwell in the past huh? Ramen coming up." Teuchi turned away from the two, concentrating on his next batch of ramen, knowing that Naruto ate at least 10 bowls per visit.

Naruto led Harri to a seat, still grinning madly like an idiot, glad that he was right and Teuchi could see her. Harri was just in shock that someone could see her. Thankfully Naruto didn't shove it around in her face that he had been right, just waited impatiently for his ramen.

When it finally came, Naruto waited just long enough to watch Harri put a bit in her mouth before devouring his. Literally. In maybe two seconds, his bowl was gone and replaced by a new one. Harri shot a small glance at the old man to see if it was normal to find him giving Naruto a proud smile. Harri gave a small half-shrug before starting to eat her own. Even if she didn't necessarily have to eat, it was till nice too. And as Naruto happily chatted away in her ear, Harri found herself enjoying the evening for the first time in a long time.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Umm, wow! Big response for being up only two days! 76 follows and 40 favorites, it's almost weird knowing people actually liked the first chapter that much. Huh. But, anyways, I feel really proud of myself for updating so soon! Yeah for me! Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. Even though Harri had warned him, he hadn't really believed her. After all, Teuchi could see her, so naturally the Old Man should have been able to see her. He was the Hokage after all. Right?

"I'm sorry Naruto, could you repeat that? I could have sworn that you just said that someone else was in here with the two of us." Hiruzen said, blinking down at the now disappointed young boy. Just to make sure, he looked around his office again, this time with his sensor abilities. He could still only sense himself, Naruto, his ANBU guards, and the lone ROOT agent that Danzo thought he would miss.

Harri laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Sorry kid. They've got to believe in the lamp."

Naruto's shoulders slumped, but he brightened up instantly. Harri recognized the glint in his eyes and squeezed his shoulder, making him look back at her.

"Don't bother. He won't believe. He'd have to see some miraculous thing to believe and it's not worth it to waste one of your wishes on it. Don't worry too much, I'll be fine." She added in case that was what he was worrying about.

Naruto's hand passed by the pocket where the lamp was residing and Harri let out an internal sigh of relief. His hand instead went up to the back of his neck as he rubbed it, turning to look back at the Hokage.

"Heh, you caught on quick Old Man. Don't ruin my jokes so fast!" he proclaimed loudly, "Anyways, do you want to go get ramen? My treat!"

"We just had some." Harri remarked as she watched the old guy think.

"Unfortunately I can't Naruto. Paperwork is a Hokage's biggest enemy. Perhaps next time?" he questioned, already pulling a small stack of paper to him.

Naruto shrugged, "Your loss, ramen is the best thing in the entire world! I'm going to get some now Old Man and when I'm Hokage, I'm never going to do paperwork!" Naruto shouted, excited again. Both Harri and the old guy shook their heads in fondness at the small boy in front of them.

"Do you want an escort Naruto? It's getting pretty late." The old guy asked, looking at Naruto intently. Harri glanced out the window behind the old man to see that it was around dusk or so, but she couldn't quite see the issue. Just on the way to the ramen shop and then to this office she had seen plenty of kids, young kids at that, running around in the streets. Why should Naruto, who was definitely older than them have cause to be worried.

Naruto glanced back to Harri, and then answered, "Naw, I'll be okay, I'll go straight home, believe it!" he said enthusiastically, then left the office. Harri followed behind him at a more sedate pace with one last glance at the man behind the desk. He seemed so tired all of a sudden, and Harri could only wonder at the cause of it before the door was closed behind her.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Hiruzen watched the door close with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Cat?" silently, said ANBU was standing in front of him at attention, "Was there another chakra signature in here?" just to justify his nerves.

When Cat shook her head and subsequently disappeared, Hiruzen sighed as he felt his age start to creep up on him. He truly was getting too old for this sort of thing.

That's what it was. His age. He ignored the lingering feeling that Naruto had been telling the truth before concentrating on his stack of paperwork. But even as he worked, he couldn't entirely dismiss the lingering feeling behind Naruto's visit.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Harri caught up with Naruto outside and waited as Naruto obviously wanted to say something to her.

"Sorry." He finally muttered in her direction after a moment's silence.

"What for? You did nothing wrong. I was the one who warned you after all so I'm still the one who is used to it." Harri immediately remarked calmly, "Let's head back to your apartment. We can talk more freely there without you looking like a crazy person."

"They already hate me." Was Naruto's only muttered reply before he started off in his apartment's direction. Harri frowned at his back, not liking his mutter, but didn't say anything. It wasn't like she could judge either, most of the times people had a reason to hate something and she didn't know enough about this world to accurately guess yet.

"I always take the side streets. Less likely to encounter the meaner people." Naruto said under his breath as his eyes swiveled from side to side. Looking for any signs of danger Harri realized. She herself would do it when she was younger and still had to deal with Dudley and his stupid games.

Without warning, Naruto suddenly ducked into one of the side streets of the side street, holding his breath. Harri watched him curiously before turning around, looking for the people who had caused such a reaction. There, staggering ahead of her, were three drunk friends. They were somewhere in their mid-twenties, but they had a strange determination about them that made Harri worry for her young friend.

"Where'd the demon brat go? I just saw him." One said loudly with a slur in his voice. He seemed to be acting as the leader even though he was the most drunk. He took several more staggering steps forward, towards the alley in which Naruto had decided to hide in.

"Naruto, what are you doing? Get moving!" Harri said, grabbing onto Naruto's shoulder.

He gave her a terrified look, "But what about you? You'll be stuck." He whispered fiercely back.

"No, I won't, don't worry about me." Harri said harshly, moving to physically shove him somewhere safer, probably the roofs, when the loudest drunk appeared.

"Hey! I found the demon!" he slurred out to his companions. The two also stumbled to the alley way, their eyes completely bypassing Harri in favor of the small shaking form. The leader took a swig from the bottle that he held before he spoke, "Should have killed you off years ago. You little demon!" he said before viciously bringing his bottle down on Naruto's head.

Instantly, Harri reacted, her hand flying forward as she banished the man into the building side. With a flick of her wrist, the leader was subjected to Levicorpus, leaving him shouting and freaking out as he found he couldn't get down. She turned to the other two and was glad to see the fear in their eyes. She stunned the one that seemed the most hesitant, his thoughts more turning to what would happen if the ANBU found out that he and his buddies had attacked the brat. Harri made a mental note to find out who this ANBU group was before turning her attention to the remaining one. This one had managed to make it past her to Naruto and had started kicking the boy in the gut after shoving him to the ground. Idiot number three seemed to believe that Naruto was the cause of his buddies being taken out and that going after Naruto would somehow solve it. Something that angered Harri to now end.

Scowling, Harri resorted to muggle measures and simply punched the guy in the jaw. She cracked her neck in satisfaction at the sight of the unconscious man on the ground before turning her attention to her Summoner.

He seemed to be staring at her with equal parts curiosity and hero-worship. Something which Harri hated and would have to fix quickly before he descended into one of the fans she had always hated.

"Don't give me any of that hero worship kid. I hate that." Harri snapped at him irritably, "Let's go. Before any more idiots decided to mess around with you. Let me out once you get back to your apartment." Then Harri returned to her lamp, ignoring the sensations coming from outside in favor of firing blasting curses at the side of the lamp in an effort to work off her temper. The sides of the lamp showed no signs of damage, even after all these years and eventually, Harri felt her ire drain away.

With a small scream, Harri fell to the floor of the lamp. As she lay there muttering, she couldn't help but recall that annoying little Gryffindor who would always follow her around for a picture. He had had the same eyes as Naruto had just shown. Then Harri winced as the sight of him laying lifeless on the ground with his neck torn open came up next. The war had cost so many lives. So many innocent lives. If only the ministry had had competent people running it. Perhaps more people would have survived.

Soon enough Harri felt the tug of her being summoned and reluctantly she got up to face Naruto. As the smoke pulled her out and deposited her on her feet in front of Naruto, she folded her arms and gave him a questioning look.

In turn, he scuffed at the ground with his foot, "Sorry." He finally muttered.

That caused Harri to stop before she even started and tilt her head at the kid, "Whatever for?" she asked sincerely.

He shrugged, "Getting you into trouble. People hate me; it's why no one wants to hang out with me."

Harri let out a tired sigh, running a hand through her hair before grabbing Naruto by the shoulder and forcing him to sit down on the couch, "Come on, let me see it." When he did nothing but look at the ground uncomfortably, Harri gave an exasperated sigh before shoving Naruto onto his side and pulling his shirt up so she could take a look at his bruises. Ignoring his protests, Harri waved a hand over his stomach to check for any signs of injuries, both internal and external. That was what she had wanted to do after the stupid war was over, be a Healer in another country.

"Do you always heal this quickly?" Harri murmured after a moment, her eyes still slightly unfocused as she searched for, apparently, nonexistent injuries.

When all she got was vague mumblings Harri looked up sharply at the boy. She was surprised to see him bright red.

"Has anyone ever bothered to do a medical check-up? A full one?" Harri asked softly, pulling her hand away as she settled back on her knees.

Naruto sat up slowly and shook his head just as slowly. He looked down at his hands which were twisting around in his nervousness, "No one's ever bothered. I healed too quickly for anyone to notice in the first place."

"No one?" Harri questioned sharply, "Not even that old guy?"

"He's busy. He can't watch over me all the time. Plus, I'm old enough now to look after myself. He probably thinks that I'll go to the hospital if it's really bad. I just… heal quickly." He ended a bit lamely, ducking his head down to stare at his lap and not into the bright green eyes of his companion.

For a moment, Harri did nothing. Then surprising both herself and Naruto, but more herself, she reached up and grabbed Naruto in a hug. He stiffened at the contact and stayed as still as he could. He looked uncomfortably over her shoulder before he realized that she was whispering something, more to herself than him.

"I am so sorry. Why can't the adults ever do anything right? A child should never have to go through this."

Naruto was even more surprised when he felt some wetness on his shirt. Was she… crying? For him?

He started to wiggle in her grasp and she let go. He looked at her and was really surprised to in fact see tears glistening in her eyes and trailing down her cheeks. With a blubbery laugh Harri reached up and wiped some tears off her cheek.

"I'm sorry. Usually I don't get emotional, especially not with a Summoner I've only known for an afternoon." She explained as more tears continued to fall down her face, "I just… gosh I don't even know. You don't want to know."

"Why are you crying for me?" Naruto asked uncomfortably, looking away from her and her tears. He talked to three, four people on a regular basis: the Old Man, Teuchi, Ayame, and Iruka-sensei. Tears were something different. Plus, shinobi weren't supposed to be emotional.

"I suppose you could say I get your situation." Naruto looked at her with curiosity, and Harri elaborated a bit, "You know, when everyone is watching you, watching every little thing you do in hopes that you make a mistake. And for some reason, everyone hates you, but no one will tell you why." Aunt Petunia swinging a pan at her came to the front of her mind and Harri shivered lightly at the memory.

Then she smiled faintly at the boy, "I suppose you could say we're a bit of kindred souls."

For a moment, Naruto just stared at her. Then abruptly, he stood up and went to his kitchen. Harri sat there in shock that someone had blown her off. Then again, they all did. With a scowl, she angrily dashed the last of her tears away before she stood up, fully preparing to just give up and head back to her lamp, forget what the magic was saying! She'd just break the bond harshly. Again.

She turned, only to stop short at the sight of Naruto standing there holding out a cup of something steaming.

Naruto hesitated when Harri didn't move, but ended up pressing the cup into her hand, "Ramen. Ramen makes everything better." He declared solemnly before disregarding the couch entirely to sit in front of holding his cup in his hands. He waited patiently as she stared with confusion at the cup, and then at him.

Then Harri sat next to him.

"Thanks." She said after a moment. Naruto did something completely out of character and simply inclined his head in her direction.

As they ate their ramen, Harri felt the magic that bound her and her Summoner shiver for a moment before settling in finally. Now, she really was stuck with him and had to grant his wishes.

But perhaps, this wouldn't be so bad Harri thought as she ate her ramen. She glanced over at the small kid next to her and her expression softened slightly. Yeah, not bad at all.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Plot twist! The old man can't see her? How many of you expected that? Don't get too mad. I never said he would be able to see her…So, I love all you guys! I've gotten tons of follows and favorites with only two chapters, so I hope that it continues to meet your standards! Speaking of standards, I should note that I don't have a Beta, it's all read over by myself, but I'm not perfect. If you spot something that could be a mistake, let me know! Also, I feel as though I suck at romance, so if I do create a pairing (which would be following the original prompt of Harry/Iruka or Harry/Kakashi or Harry/Itachi) it probably won't be a big thing. Because I suck at romance. But any thoughts would be appreciated! Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

"Alright Naruto listen. This is very important alright?" Harri asked, "You can't ever let anyone know this. No one okay? No matter how much you trust them, okay?"

Naruto gave a small nod, surprised by Harri's intensity.

Harri reached out and grabbed onto Naruto's shoulder, actually shaking him a little, "Swear to me. Swear you won't tell anyone."

"Okay, okay. I won't tell anyone. Happy?" Naruto agreed, more eager to hear the secret than anything else. No one ever trusted him with a secret, worried that he would scream it to the world. But really, if you could get him to swear sincerely, he would take the secret to his grave.

"I usually don't tell Summoners this, mainly because they would use it against me, do you understand the severity more?" Harri questioned.

Now Naruto was starting to get worried, what could it possibly be? But he nodded his head and gestured for her to continue.

"I can't touch the lamp. At all. It's why when we went out that I had you pick it up." Harri told him, "But that's not really the issue. I can't leave a certain area from the lamp."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confused.

Harri gave a short sigh, "I mean if you were to pick up the lamp and walk out the door, eventually I would be summoned back to the lamp. I have to stay a certain distance within the lamp before it will summon me back into it. Do you understand now? Don't let anyone else take the lamp because I won't be able to stop them. I can't touch the lamp."

Naruto nodded slowly, "I get it. I'll be careful. I won't tell anyone." He swore.

Harri stuck her small, pale hand out, pinky up, "Pinky swear." She said seriously.

Naruto could vaguely remember someone saying that a pinky swear was the most sincere swear that could ever happen, and if she was using it, then that meant it was serious. Solemnly for him, he stuck his own pinky out and linked with hers.

"Pinky swear."

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"Do you want to go to the Academy with me tomorrow?" Naruto asked once they were done with their ramen.

"What's the Academy?" Harri asked, taking his cup and her own to throw away.

"It's where kids go to learn how to be shinobi." Naruto answered.

"Shinobi?" Harri asked as she tossed the trash into the trashcan. Taking the opportunity to sneak a look at the cabinet and nearly groaning at the sight of only ramen in the cupboards. No wonder the kid was so small.

"Yeah, they go out and protect people and do all sorts of things." Naruto answered proudly, "I want to be just as good as the Fourth Hokage. Better in fact! Then people will respect me."

"Kid, you're going to have to get me a history book or something because I don't know half of what you just said." Harri eventually said after sticking her head out of the kitchen to stare at him. None of what he had just said made any sort of sense to her at all, "That'll be your mission for me. Get me some history books or a dictionary or something like that."

Naruto made a face, "You can just come with me tomorrow and then when I cut class, because I will because it's so boring! I could just leave your lamp there and come get it later. I usually end up being caught by Iruka-sensei anyways and then I have to do detention with him and it sucks!"

Harri rolled her eyes, "So long as you find an excellent hiding place I don't see why not. But if the spot sucks, you'll have to take the lamp with you. Also, you really shouldn't be cutting. How do you expect to learn anything and become the Hokage or whatever the term was if you aren't the best?"

Naruto shrugged, "Don't worry about me! I'll still be the best! Believe it! By the way, what do I call you? Genie?"

Harri laughed, "Nah kid, my name's Harri. Harri Potter."

"Weird name." Naruto wrinkled his nose. Harri shrugged in response. To her, everyone here had odd names, but because of majority rules, Harri didn't bother to argue.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"Hey Harri, I've got breakfast ready!" Naruto called loudly, tapping her side and preparing to leap away in case she reacted violently to being woken up like most of the ANBU and shinobi. Harri mumbled into the pillow and vaguely swatted her hand in his direction. Last night she had merely just gone back to her lamp, but when Naruto offered her the couch, her eyes had lit up. Obviously she wasn't used to having such comforts as simple as sleeping on a couch.

Naruto poked her again, this time in the side and she jumped a little bit before raising her head to look at him through blurry eyes.

"What's up kid?" she mumbled out, her hair sticking up in some places. Harri momentarily cursed the Potter hair before she used a simple spell to pull it back into a French braid.

"Breakfast. I got ramen ready." Naruto said happily, he didn't remark on her blatant use of magic in front of him, but that was most likely because he thought it was just more of that genie power. At least here she wasn't likely to get hauled off to prison if she used magic around others.

"You know kid, to save money you don't have to feed me. I don't necessarily have to eat while I'm bound to the lamp, it's nice, but I'm suspended in life while I'm in the lamp. I don't need any necessities like food, water, sleep. Don't worry too much about me." She explained, trying to offer him a bit of relief. She could easily tell that he was poor, his apartment was pathetic. To be painfully blunt. Plus, only ramen? She still couldn't believe it; surely the kid had heard of a balanced diet, then again, it wasn't like Harri had a lot of room for criticism with her childhood.

Naruto's shoulder's slumped the tiniest bit, "I want to though."

Harri stared, then sighed, "Alright kid. Let's have some ramen for breakfast." Inwardly Harri shivered lightly at the thought of having more ramen, especially since they had had it for dinner the night before, but it was obviously all the poor kid could afford. Naruto brightened and darted into his kitchen. Harri slammed her head back into the pillow for a moment, just relaxing in the opportunity to sleep on something soft before she reluctantly threw off the blanket Naruto had let her borrow before heading to the table.

Naruto was waiting for her with an already made cup for her and one for him with several others in various stages of cooking.

Again, by the time Harri had finished one, Naruto had downed a significantly larger amount than her. It was amazing and reminded her of the irritating Weasley boy, but in a good way. He must have an amazing metabolism.

"That's almost insane. Definitely weird if nothing else." Harri said as she watched him inhale another cup, "But, if you're done, let's go. Lead the way my friend."

Naruto brightened, threw away their trash, and picked up her lamp, "How do you want to get there? I mean I could…"

Harri interrupted him, "Don't worry. I'll ride in my lamp so you can do your super… ninja… jump… thingy." Harri struggled to find the words to describe it, and just knew that Naruto would burst out laughing at her. Sure enough, he let out a large laugh.

"No problem! I'll give you a tap when I'm by the Academy! Let's go!"

Harri shot him an amused look before returning to her lamp, settling back for the ride. It was an interesting experience. For once, Harri chose to stay awake for the ride and was pleasantly surprised to find that his jumping skills weren't as… bumpy… as she had expected. Obviously she needed to pay more attention to her surroundings if she hadn't noticed it last night when Naruto had returned to his apartment after that fight.

Not too long afterwards, Harri felt a light tap on the side and exited her lamp, interested in what this world was really like. Teuchi's friend all those years ago didn't count, especially since all she could remember of that kid were his shoes.

The classroom was sunny, which was always a good sign to Harri. Madam Pomfrey's infirmary had always been bright.

Naruto was setting her lamp discreetly under the desk. He had found that some of the desks in the back had a little shelf in them, and since only the 'dead-lasts' sat there, no curious person would find it. Hopefully. Harri nodded in approval when she saw the spot and Naruto beamed at her. It seemed he had a short attention span because soon he was up in the face of another kid. Harri watched in interest as the two, mainly Naruto though, started an argument which quickly descended into a brawl. Although it was quickly stopped by the arrival of who Harri was assuming was the teacher.

Harri liked his face, he had one of those faces that always had a kind tint to them even if said person was yelling at someone else. Like he was doing to Naruto and the other kid now.

"Naruto! Go sit down!" the man yelled, picking Naruto up by his collar and dropping him on his butt a few inches away. The other kid merely sat up and brushed his arms off like it was all a terrible inconvenience for him.

Naruto made a face at the other kid before darting up to his seat, avoiding the girl who tried to smack him on the head.

"Leave Sasuke alone!" she shrilled, her pink hair swinging around as she tried to land a hit on Naruto. Harri just stood there for a moment surprised at the colour. Pink hair. Then again, people jumped around like a kangaroo or grasshopper and that was considered normally apparently.

"Who was that?" Harri asked Naruto. He shot her a look before putting on a dazed expression, one Harri recognized as having a crush on a person.

Then he shouted, "But Sakura!" he whined, like actually whined, "Sasuke's being a teme!" Harri raised a single eyebrow at the sight.

"Shut it Naruto! You were bothering Sasuke again!" she snapped, surprisingly very vicious. Harri sighed and raised her eyes heavenward as though that would give her patience. Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea if they all acted like this.

"Sakura! Sit down!" the man snapped, "Naruto! I already told you to sit, so sit."

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto complained, but one look from the teacher, Iruka, made Naruto simply huff once before sitting down.

"You're all a bunch of children." Harri said dryly from her spot next to Naruto, "Who can only see skin-deep. Frankly, I hope you're only joking with this infatuation of yours, because at this moment in time, that girl is a complete harpy."

Naruto shot her a small glare, but all it did was make Harri shrug, "Just noting a fact. She'll get better with age. Hopefully. So long as she gets rid of her fan-girl tendencies." His glare increased the slightest.

"Naruto!" Iruka's voice made Naruto jump and face the front of the class. Iruka glared at him, his eyes narrowing slightly, "Are you planning on paying attention today? I asked you a question."

Naruto grinned, his hand raising to scratch the back of his head, "Sorry Iruka-sensei, I didn't hear the question. And I probably don't even know the answer so you might as well ask someone who does."

Iruka sighed, but turned to another student for the answer to his question.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Naruto had ended up ditching right before lunch, leaving with a rushed good-bye to Harri before he disappeared out the window. Harri noticed that Iruka caught the end of Naruto's foot as he leaped out and gave a very small frustrated sigh before he continued teaching. Barely anyone noticed that Naruto had left, although Harri saw how one kid who had seemingly been asleep open one eye as Naruto opened the window before he closed his eye again as the window gently shut. Beyond him, no one else seemed to notice.

Harri had decided that this world was just as weird as the wizarding world, but better. She finally understood what Naruto had been talking about thanks to a book she had picked up from Iruka's desk to Iruka's actual lesson.

After the kids had had their lunch, in which Harri heard distantly shouts and a boom that sounded faintly like she should be worried, they moved onto their more ninja-y things. Like throwing sharp things and fighting each other. It was odd to Harri to watch as these 12 year olds threw sharp objects and toss each other around the yard, but to them, it was normal. Much like how she had been handed a deadly weapon when she was 11, her wand, it was normal to them.

The wizarding world and the ninja world (shinobi, that was the official term at least) weren't that different from each other. Hopefully this place was better though.

In the middle of the afternoon, Iruka left after getting a message delivered by a man in mask. It seemed to be normal for the class though because another guy came in with white hair that totally freaked Harri out. She thought about diving into his thoughts, but with the revelation that some clans could apparently access others minds', decided to take the safe course and until she knew who that clan was, avoid diving into any shinobi's brain.

Naruto was hauled back to the Academy by Iruka in the afternoon, and Harri observed in amused silence at the sight of the bright blue man hauling a paint splattered Naruto into the building. The rest of his class was dismissed seeing as it was the end of the day and Naruto and Iruka waited in stubborn silence until everyone was gone.

"Seeing as how it for once didn't take place on the Academy property, you won't have detention here. The Hokage doesn't trust you to take down the traps though, so don't even ask." Iruka started, "But, come on Naruto, how do you expect to pass the graduation test if you constantly skip class?" he asked exasperated.

"When is the test?" Naruto asked, chin jutting out as he avoided eye contact with Iruka.

"Next month. And at this rate, you won't pass." Iruka told him, "So please, study and try to actually stay for the entire day tomorrow." He pleaded, "But for now, head home and wash up. And don't pull anymore pranks today!" he scolded Naruto lightly. But Harri could see the barely hidden affection in Iruka's eyes as he patted Naruto on the head before leaving. Clearly Iruka saw Naruto as a younger brother, although one who tested his patience constantly.

"Ready Harri?" Naruto asked brightly, grabbing her lamp from its hiding place before tucking it into his jacket.

Harri gave him a smile, "Lead the way. I assume we are going to that same ramen place as yesterday?"

Naruto nodded eagerly before grabbing her hand and leading her out, pulling her the entire way to Ichiraku's. The old man seemed genuinely glad to see them again and without prompting put out bowls for them. He didn't even blink at seeing Naruto covered in different kinds of paint, and Naruto spent the rest of the meal describing in detail the prank he had just pulled. Leaving out the essential parts that were critical to the prank in case anyone with payback in their thoughts was listening in. Harri recognized it from her interactions with the Weasley twins and smiled into her bowl of ramen as Naruto kept talking.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Whew! That seemed like a long chapter! So, this one was mainly filler, nothing exciting happened. But it was necessary so Harri could learn about Naruto's world, I didn't feel like describing every new thing she learned though, so I hope it was decent. Also, Iruka, Sasuke, and Sakura made an entrance! I feel as though Harri will have little patience when it comes to Sakura just because of Sakura's fan-girling, but we'll see how it ends up. Thank you to everyone who followed/favorite/reviewed, they make me happy! Also, calling all prank ideas! When it comes to pranks, I'm limited to about putting a rubber band on the sink hose thingy and letting people spray themselves, so any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Also, concerning parings, as soon as I figure out how to do that poll thingy, I'll put one up, but be forewarned that I write spontaneously basically, so I have no idea where this story is going and Harri could end up with pretty much anybody at this point. Also, I'm trying not to intermingle the Japanese terms and English, mainly because I don't speak Japanese, so don't expect them to start speaking more Japanese.


	5. Chapter 5

The people of Konoha, civilian and shinobi alike, were grudgingly resigned to the fact that they would wake up to find some new prank set off. The pranks weren't very creative, but they were daring, annoying, and if you asked the right people, downright insulting. Of course, the last one came after said prankster managed to make his way into the ANBU headquarters and throw paint around. Of course, everyone knew who the prankster was. Naruto Uzumaki usually was found not long after the prank had been committed and then proceeded to lead ANBU, Jonin, and Chunin alike in a merry chase around the village. Sometimes they managed to catch him.

Most times, they didn't.

That honour went to his Academy instructor, Iruka Umino. He had developed an almost uncanny ability to find Naruto after he had managed to escape from the grasp of the more advanced shinobi. Most times after Naruto had committed a prank, the other shinobi gave half-hearted to full-hearted chase (depending on who Naruto had managed to piss off that day) before giving up and leaving the actual capturing to Iruka.

Iruka would never tell that it was because he had been a prankster and knew all the short-cuts and hiding spots just as well, perhaps more than, Naruto.

So when Iruka woke one morning with his 'Naruto-prank' feeling going haywire, he was understandably wary. As he walked towards the Academy that morning, he could see that others were feeling the tension too, although more on a subconscious level than anything. In the instructors' room at the Academy, they all exchanged tense glances.

"He hasn't done anything yet?" one of the instructors for the younger kids asked. The others in the room shook their heads, and their wariness rose a fraction before they headed off to their respective classrooms.

It seemed that the kids could sense it too, because they kept casting wary eyes at the orange menace. Iruka stopped in the doorway though, blinking, because yes, Naruto was actually here on time. That alone was a warning against him; it usually meant the prank for the day was going to be on the Academy which would only cause a headache for all the instructors.

But for once, Naruto seemed to actually be paying attention, and so Iruka forced himself to ignore Naruto's behavior. Perhaps he would actually be able to teach today without having to deal with the menaces in the back. Naruto was bad on his own, but adding Kiba to the mix was like adding a flame to methane gas: explosive. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if Naruto managed to convince Shikamaru to join in.

Naruto went the entire day at the Academy, without one sign of a prank. As he was leaving, Iruka was hit not with the feeling of wariness, but worry. Naruto had never skipped a day of pranking, even if in a little way. The blond didn't seem to have anything wrong with him, and the festival wasn't for a while, so theoretically, the civilians had no reason to go after the blond. He wasn't acting as though he had any injuries, and even if he did, Iruka was sure that Naruto would simply hide it until he had healed. Perhaps Naruto was simply starting to grow up. The weekend had been quiet; perhaps Naruto truly had gained some maturity. His last prank had been one of his biggest ones; Naruto had put a lot of heart into it, trying to give a makeover to the Hokage's office. If Iruka hadn't known any better, he would have thought that Naruto was trying to impress someone. Perhaps this mysterious person was the one who might have possibly given him some maturity.

'_Then again,'_ Iruka thought as he saw Naruto bound up to Sakura to ask her out on a date only to be hit in the head, causing him to fall on the ground and then spring up to challenge Sasuke to a match, resulting in a quick takedown, _'Perhaps not.'_

Iruka grimaced at the scene, but the students had already broken the circle up themselves and the two fighters parted with last insults at each other's backs.

So, theoretically, Iruka could hope that Naruto had gained some maturity and would stop pranking, but with his 'Naruto-prank' feeling still going strong, Iruka resolved to watch the blond over the next few days. He was probably going to end up blowing something up with how his pranks ended up going.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"Alright, I will admit, you are a fine prankster." Harri started, her voice going into 'teacher mode' as she liked to call it, "You have some solid ideas, and you are effective at avoiding capture immediately afterword's."

"But Iruka-sensei always catches me!" Naruto interrupted.

"Oi! No interrupting!" Harri scolded lightly, waving her finger in front of his face to distract his thoughts for a moment, "I said immediately. I didn't say you were effective at avoiding capture forever." She gave Naruto a stare as he flashed a bright red and mumbled an apology. Harri continued on, "As I was saying, you have some solid ideas and you can avoid capture, for the most part. However, you repeat ideas. From what you have shown me, you typically stick with paint and painting areas that would either be a) impossible for others to get into, or b) defacing public property. The people who become pranksters are usually the ones who want to stand out, to be noticed. By repeating pranks, people get used to them and they start to lose interest. Now frankly, I think you could do with less attention, but at the same time, it does provide you with some coverage from them.

"What we are going to be working on, as you've probably guessed by now, is variation to your pranks and longer time between when the prank is set off to when you are caught. First rule, don't run, walk. If you run, you are attracting attention to yourself and everyone will wonder why you are running. By walking, you are setting yourself up as one of the crowd, simply a bystander. Of course, with you, I'll have to revise it seeing as how you seem to be the only one who does any sort of pranks."

Naruto shrugged, "Sometimes Kiba helps. Sometimes, I can get Shikamaru to help and then my pranks are awesome!" he shouted, conveying with his noise level at how much better that prank had been compared to his normal ones.

Harri's mouth twitched upwards, "I'm sure it was."

"And when I say awesome, I mean, awesome. No one even realized for a couple hours, and then they couldn't even blame me because I was in class, and it was the best!" Naruto continued, fists pumping as he did a victory dance in remembrance of his prank with the other kids' assistance, "People were cleaning their homes for weeks after that."

Harri just watched him with amusement; he was such a funny kid.

"To continue, first, we have to plan. Every good plan involves planning and contingency plans."

"Contingency plans?"

"Back-up plans." Harri amended, "Just in case something happens, it's better to be over-prepared than underprepared. Easier to explain away as well. This may be a bit difficult here because I don't know this world's preparations, and what I would use to hold stuff, most likely doesn't exist here."

Naruto's eyes furrowed as he looked at Harri, his head tilting to one side, "What do you mean 'your world'? I thought you came from here."

Harri shook her head, "No, I come from a place far, far away. I don't think anyone here will ever be able to reach it." It was something Harri had researched, in all the different places she had landed in, but none had been able to offer up a way to travel between worlds. Some had had their own separate worlds within each other, typically being called realms rather than worlds, but ultimately none had any useful information for her.

"What about your home?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

Harri gave a sad smile, internally wondering how on earth they had started the evening on such a high note only to end up on this depressing note. Again. Then she gave a half-shrug, her smile turning more real, "I've been gone a long time. Besides, I've seen enough new places to be satisfied."

Naruto shot her a look that clearly said he didn't believe her, but he didn't call her out on it, "Okay. I won't push for now. What about the second key thing to pranking?"

Grateful for being back on the original topic, Harri jumped on it, "Evasion. You're pretty decent from what I've seen. I'm impressed you managed to last that long against people who clearly should have caught you. I'm surprised that they didn't catch you earlier what with all that orange." Harri made a vague gesture in his direction and Naruto's grin grew.

"The old man said that I'd be the best stealth ninja when he saw it, and I'm going to be, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed, "I've been almost escaping them for years! But ever since Iruka-sensei's become my teacher, it's become a lot easier to evade the ANBU and a lot harder to escape him." He explained.

"At least you have grown in your skills, "Harri observed, "That's important. But you are hot-headed. You are deliberately bringing their attention to you, even if you do have a good getaway. A lot of times if you had simply waited a few minutes, even just a few seconds, most of your pursuers would have passed by wherever you are hiding."

Harri spent the rest of the evening dividing her time between teaching Naruto all she had learned from the Weasley twins over the years and helping him with his school-work the best she could. And even though Harri had only the basics of this world down, she could easily tell that Naruto was not on the route to a high standing in class.

By the time Naruto's bedtime came around, or at least, what Harri said was his bedtime, Naruto and Harri had hashed out an entire plan for a prank tomorrow.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

The next day dawned bright and clear. With no pranks having been set off yesterday, most civilians allowed themselves to relax minutely. It meant that they weren't the targets this time. Some of the civilians felt a small stab of pity for the shinobi go through their hearts, but quickly dismissed it for the feeling of relief instead.

The ANBU however, were in a silent uproar.

The captain of all the ANBU, under only the Hokage stood in silent fury as he watched his members walk around stiffly, the only sign of their displeasure. ANBU were mean to be the silent guardians over the village, the ones who did the dirty work so the villagers could live their lives thinking they were safe. All ANBU wore black to signify the night and how they worked in it. Their masks were meant to help detach the shinobi from the work, to allow them to return to their lives in a somewhat normal manner. Every villages' ANBU were meant to be feared and respected. Konoha's ANBU were the most feared, most members had a flee-on-sight order in the ANBU bingo books.

However, the Orange Menace had struck again. The only problem was, the ANBU commander had absolutely nothing to pin on the little brat. If the commander hadn't known the brat, hadn't watched over him when the brat was a baby, he would have suggested that someone else had committed the prank.

As it was, only one person in the entire village had the audacity to pull off a prank like this. And not get caught at the same time.

Each ANBU outfit had changes to them. Some looked perfectly normal, but the commander caught a very distinctive smell coming from one ANBU, and another looked deceptively normal until he turned around, causing the commander to choke behind his mask as he stared wide-eyed at the very obvious tribute to the Icha Icha series. The commander himself didn't read it, but Kakashi Hatake wandered around the village often enough with his nose buried in those idiotic books, so the commander had a pretty good idea what the main characters looked like. Granted, the character had strategically placed smoke, but it was still pretty clear. And judging by the ANBU's stiff shoulders as they tried to make it through the crowd quickly without attracting too much attention they knew it too. Of course, they were failing massively.

"Commander-sama" an ANBU appeared in front of him, the Cat mask masking her face, but doing nothing for her purple hair. She seemed to be one of the luckier ones; the commander could see no obvious faults with her uniform.

"Cat." He acknowledged.

"Naruto Uzumaki was spotted a few blocks from here; however, he seemed to simply be on his way to the Academy. He was devoid of any paint, and didn't seem to be holding any. A few of the more, cleaner, ANBU followed him and then retraced his steps but could find no sign of anything that would indicate our current state. Tiger did report that Uzumaki seemed more cheerful than normal, but otherwise there are no indications that he is behind this." She reported.

"Nothing? Nothing at all?" he pressed.

Cat hesitated for a moment before carefully replying, "There were several times where he would look next to him as though someone was there. However, there was no other chakra signature besides Uzumaki and the other ANBU guards."

The commander tilted his head back almost imperceptibly as he thought over this information, "Is there anything else to report? What about back at the brats' apartment?"

Again Cat hesitated, "From the last rotations visit, it seemed, well, cleaner. But it was a subtly clean. Less dirt spots." It was clear that Cat was struggling in how to describe the state of Uzumaki's apartment, "If anything, it looks the same. It's the small things that are different." She finished.

The commander was silent. It wasn't often that the Uzumaki managed to make his way into the ANBU headquarters; he hadn't done it for several years actually. And after last time, they had revamped security because a little kid had managed to make his way inside. It seemed they would have to check over the security again.

"Get some of the more, inconspicuous ones on the brat. See if you can pin anything on him." The commander ordered, "What about the Hokage's detail? Will we need to switch the rotations?"

Cat shook her head, "The Hokage guards are the only ones who are unaffected. No one is sure how, but they left for their rotation a bit ago. However, the ones who were on guard duty, as soon as they returned and entered the door; they were affected in varying ways. No one can figure out what is going on."

Behind his mask, the commander frowned deeply. This was unlike the brat. He was never this clever. Or considerate.

"Dismissed."

Cat nodded once before standing up, revealing what had been done to her uniform. It had been redone into a field of flowers, clearly standing out from the rest of her uniform. The commander barely held back a snort at the sight. Cat hated flowers. With a passion.

Said ANBU seemed to sense his mirth because she shot him a look that, even though blocked by his mask, conveyed her displeasure at being made fun off before disappearing with a small pile of leaves falling to the ground as the only sign that she had left.

The commander turned around, his arms coming behind him to clasp each other as he stared out the window he had been standing in front of. He could see the Uzumaki brat from here, his blond hair and bright orange jumpsuit a beacon to everyone. How strange. He did have guts. The commander had to give him that at least.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Yeah! Another chapter! You know, it makes me all happy looking at how the numbers of followers/favorites has increased, you guys are awesome!

So I have to put a bit of a disclaimer in here, the prank on the ANBU is, unfortunately, not originally my idea. Since I was lacking in prank ideas (hint, hint, wink, wink) I dragged up a vague memory from another Naruto story that involved said blond putting the prank on the ANBU. I believe it was a time travel story, but I don't remember.

Anyways, I think I've decided that Harri won't be with Iruka, but I'm still not entirely sure. Who knows…

Also, I am not a pranker, I don't do pranks. If Harri's logic concerning pranks is wrong, do let me know, I like to be correct in my writing.

You all should also be glad, because I actually planned stuff out. Not like I have the whole story decided, but I 'kinda 'sorta know in which direction I am going. Sort of. Just know, I do have some semblance of a plan going!

Anyways, enough ramblings! Enjoy the story!

**AN/2**: Thanks to Hawkmoon888 for pointing out my mistake with the whole fire/nitrogen/methane gas thing. I trusted my younger brother and obviously I should have done my own research.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you ready Naruto? Tomorrow's the day. You will pass the test." Harri said with certainty as she made dinner. _This is it. The big one. The one we've all been waiting for._ The pre-quidditch pep talk rose to mind and Harry allowed a moment of nostalgia before turning back to the dinner. She was making something that she had always enjoyed back in England. Plain old fish and chips; although the ingredients hadn't been obtained in the most legal of ways. Harri, however, refused to feel guilty about the stolen ingredients, not when it was so blatantly obvious everyone hated the ball of sunshine. Because honestly, if they just took the time to look, they would see that Naruto was just a normal kid. A lonely kid with a bigger heart than should have been possible, but a normal kid nonetheless.

"But, Harri, what if I don't? This is my third time taking it." Naruto looked more stressed out than usual, his legs bouncing up and down as he thought anxiously about his graduation test tomorrow.

Harri rolled her eyes, although the action went unnoticed by Naruto because she was facing the stove, her back to the kid, "We've been over this. Since you finally got everything straightened out, you've been improving in leaps and bounds. You may still be dead last, but the gap is a lot smaller now. You have just as much a chance as any of the other dead-lasts. And you know that term isn't even correct because the other dead lasts are easily going to become ninja."

"But…" Naruto started to protest, looking down at the ground.

Exasperated, Harri turned around, her hand going for the kitchen towel before throwing it at Naruto's head. Harri was pleased when it did manage to hit Naruto clean in the face, making him look up in surprise at her.

"What happened to Mr. Optimistic? Just do your best and you'll be fine." Harri said, turning back to the food, "Think of a positive outcome and you will achieve it. Allow doubt to enter your mind, and the doubt will become self-fulfilling."

There was silence, so Harri looked back at Naruto. He was staring at her with a blank expression on his face as he tried to figure out her words, "Honestly Naruto, just think about it for a moment. You have to act confident and believe in your abilities." Harri said.

"Oh, I get it!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping to his feet, "Like how I will be Hokage! Believe it!" his fist pumping the air again as he got himself excited.

Harri scowled at him good naturedly, "Oi, no yelling in the house. It's not polite."

Naruto shot her a sheepish look and lowered his fist, "Sorry. Do you want me to set the table?" Harri nodded distractedly as she turned back to the food. It was a lot harder to make it than she remembered. Harri blamed the fact that she was trying to cook a very English meal in a very not English world to be the problem. It looked like it was progressing nicely, but without a reliable timer, she was basing it off of looks and smell.

"Done!" Naruto said soon after in a slightly louder voice than was probably polite for indoors, but at least it wasn't yelling. Harri had mostly cured him from yelling indoors, mainly due to a couple of well-aimed stinging hexes. But Naruto's natural enthusiasm was difficult to curb, and so Harri had eventually settled for damage control at the least.

"Good. I think the food's done too." Harri murmured as she glanced at it suspiciously. It smelled and looked like normal at least. She carried it over to the table and made Naruto sit down as well.

"I'm a little worried because you keep looking at it strangely." Naruto announced when he saw her eyeing it. Usually he dug into whatever food was placed in front of him, and he was taking her wariness as a sign.

Harri squared her shoulders and called upon the Gryffindor pride that existed in her somewhere. After seven years living in the Gryffindor tower, she would naturally take on some of their stupid courage. …Right?

Bravely, in Harri's mind at least, she dished some out and stuck it in her mouth.

Naruto was watching her closely, no doubt reading the small signs that would indicate disgust to him._It's sad_, Harri thought, _that he can tell what disgust is from the minutest of expressions. He's too young to have to be dealing with this sort of hate._

To Harri's great relief, the fish and chips were good. Just as good as when she would make them in England. Harri let out a moan of delight before eagerly digging in, forgoing polite manners and eating in a way reminiscent of Naruto. The blond in question had taken her moan as a good sign and had attacked the food as well. He seemed to enjoy it just as much as Harri if his sounds were anything to go by.

Harri naturally didn't eat as much as Naruto, but she was a cook, and all cooks loved to see their food enjoyed by others.

"That… was amazing." Naruto groaned, "It tasted almost like perfection!" he said after he had finally finished, the dish empty of all things edible. His plate was scrapped clean too, and Harri idly wondered that if she hadn't been here then he would have licked the plate clean.

Harri raised a slim eyebrow at that, "Almost?"

"Well, yeah. Ramen is first of course. Ramen is food of the gods. This can be second though." Naruto proposed after a second to think.

Harri laughed and shook her head, "Sure kid. Whatever you say. Now come on, help me wash up." Naruto eagerly bounded up and grabbed the dishes, proceeding to chatter her ear away as he washed up as Harri dried and put the dishes away.

It seemed as though Naruto's worries had disappeared, but Harri could see the extra jitters that plagued Naruto as he worked and she just pursed her lips in thought. Harri wouldn't be going with him tomorrow, just so that way she didn't accidently cheat for him, and then hopefully if he passed, they would go to see Teuchi. With actually studying for once, Naruto had been hard-pressed to convince Harri to go to the ramen shop. Harri had instead set it up as his reward for passing.

The only problem was, Naruto seemed to have inherited his own version of the Potter luck. If something could go wrong tomorrow, it would. Just like how at Hogwarts the stuff had always come to a head at the end of the year.

Harri grimaced at the thought of Naruto's graduation exam going bad, but ultimately decided to do nothing about it. If Naruto had indeed inherited his own version of the Potter luck, then he would most likely scrap by the skin of his teeth, pulling something truly incredible out of nowhere.

Harri just prayed that nothing would happen tomorrow.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

For most of his life, Naruto had been ignored. It was why he had started to become truly obnoxious and pulling off grand pranks on everyone around him. Granted, Naruto loved pranks anyway so in his mind he was killing two birds with one stone, but the results of his attempts had been… not as good as he had wanted. Sure he had gotten attention, but no one ever bothered to really look. So Naruto remained alone most of his childhood.

Then in his typical Naruto luck, he had managed to get hit on the head with a dirty old lamp. Naruto had looked around angrily as he rubbed his head, one hand holding onto the lamp. He was surprised though, because no one was around. As though the lamp had just fallen out of the sky. Now, Naruto knew he wasn't the smartest person around, but he did like to think that he had some common sense at the very least. So when it seemed like there was no other option beyond the lamp falling from the sky, he scampered home, not really thinking about the dirty lamp in his hand.

Then he remembered the story Teuchi had once told him a long time ago and although it seemed the stupidest thing in the world to do, Naruto rubbed the lamp.

And his life was changed for the better. With the introduction of Harri to his life, Naruto had found himself truly being acknowledged. He had at first thought that it was only because no one else could see her besides him and Teuchi, but she had proven him wrong with all that she had done.

Now the graduation test was here, and thanks to Harri, he was more prepared this time than at any other moment in his life. Since Naruto was now tied for dead-last, he had just as much chance as Harri had said last night.

But when Naruto sat down at his desk, all that he had learned over the past month, all that Harri had crammed into his brain, seemed to have disappeared. Naruto felt frozen as he stared at the paper, the words turning into scribbles as his brain tried to process them. Of course his test anxiety would come back on the graduation test. It couldn't have come on any other test, no, just the freaking graduation test!

As his breathing started to quicken and his fingers started tapping faster, a sudden ball of paper hit him in the head. Naruto jerked back as though burned, his head whipping up to see everyone writing diligently on their tests, although Iruka was reading a book.

With cautious fingers, Naruto opened up the ball of paper, spreading it out to read the short message on it. _Calm down and don't give up_. Was all it said and Naruto looked up again to see if whoever had sent it would give him a sign. The only thing he saw out of the ordinary, and even then it was normal, was Shikamaru yawning widely.

Naruto entertained the thought that Shikamaru had sent the note, but quickly dismissed it. He was too lazy.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

After his moment of panic, the rest of the test went smoothly. Then came what Naruto liked to call the Academy two plus the devil. The jutsu portion. The Academy always tested three specific jutsu's because of their usefulness, even with the most powerful shinobi. It was a good start to working with an Academy student's chakra. Naruto could get the substitution and Henge just fine. Those two were the Academy two. The devil one was the clone jutsu. As much as Naruto had practiced and practiced, he could never get it. Harri hadn't been able to help because even though she had her weird power, she wasn't a shinobi and didn't understand how chakra worked at all.

Hopefully he could still pass though.

When he put his hands together for the hand sign and pushed his chakra out, he could tell almost immediately that the clone would not come out looking nice. Sure enough, once the smoke cleared, the clone was standing, but still looked utterly pathetic. At least he had improved. Naruto cast a hopeful and pleading look to Iruka.

Iruka looked stuck, but his face hardened with resolve as he told Naruto, "You fail!"

Naruto felt absolutely crushed as he staggered out of the room, completely missing Iurka's look of pity and compassion and Mizuki's look of victory and hatred.

Naruto thought about just going straight back to his apartment, but then remembered that Harri would be there. Harri who had actually believed in him. There was no way he could face her. Instead, Naruto just sat down on the swing by the Academy, watching sad and jealous eyes of all the other kids who had passed. Who had passed and had someone to greet them.

"Hey, isn't he the kid who-?"

"Yeah, that's him. The only one who failed!"

"Serves him right, can you imagine someone like that become a shinobi?! I mean, think about what he is…"

"Don't talk about it! It's forbidden!"

Naruto reached up and grabbed ahold of his goggles, pulling them a little bit lower over his eyes so he could wipe the tears away without anyone seeing. It really did hurt when they talked like that. He wished that they could just see him, see him as the normal kid he was!

A shadow fell over Naruto and he looked up to see Mizuki standing over him. In Naruto's distressed state, he failed to recognize many of the signs he would have normally noticed. As it was, Naruto felt like he was drowning, and so completely misread Mizuki's face.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"You know, Iruka-sensei, he's tough, but he's not against you." Mizuki said conversationally.

"Then why? Why only me?" Naruto asked dejectedly as he swung his foot back and forth.

Mizuki paused before answering again, "He's like you, you know. No parents, no family. And he wants you to be strong with all his heart so there's no way he would let you graduate if he feels like you aren't at you best. He cares about you almost like a younger brother."

Naruto thought of Harri and how over the past month she had become like a sister to him and his face burned with humiliation. Iruka cared for him like Harri did?

"But… I this time I really wanted to graduate." Naruto said softly.

There was a moment of silence as the two stared up at the clouds before Mizuki let out a soft chuckle, "Well then, I guess I have to tell you."

"Huh? Tell me what?" Naruto asked, giving Mizuki an extremely confused look.

"It's a secret, but I'm going to let you in on it."

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Harri paced nervously around the apartment. Naruto definitely should have been back by now. There was no question about it. It was dawn, the whole freaking night had passed by. The only problem was that she was stuck here in the apartment until someone moved the lamp. Harri couldn't even cast a spell to help Naruto wherever he was in case he was someplace crowded and she ended up blowing up a monument. Not that that had ever happened before or anything with a different Summoner…

But blast the magic that was keeping her bound to the lamp!

"Death!" she snapped at thin air, waiting for the elusive being to appear. She hadn't attempted to call him before because Death and her had had a rocky relationship ever since she had been dropped into worlds that weren't under his domain. She could still call upon him, but it cost him a lot of energy and he hated wasted energy. He still had to come when she called though. But when nothing appeared, Harri felt her patience finally snap, "θænətɒs!"

Instantly, Harri felt the room darken and go a few degrees colder as the being was forcibly pulled from wherever it was that he had been hanging out.

Death sent her a frigid glare that had she been a normal mortal, would have killed her. Harri ignored it though and glared right back.

"Mistress." He hissed out, the words blurring together as Death looked around him distastefully, "What do you need?"

Harri glared at the being, "Is the boy named Naruto Uzumaki dead or close to dying?"

If Death had a nose, he probably would have wrinkled it as he stared at her, "This is not my world. I cannot control the fates of the people here. We have been over this before."

"I'm not asking you to get rid someone, I'm asking you to…" Harri started to physically hiss out, one hand reaching for Death's robe in order to grab it and haul him closer to her face when the door opened. Both beings froze as Naruto stopped in confusion in his doorway.

As though they had rehearsed it (and in fact they had-although both would vehemently deny it) Death disappeared, taking all aspects of his aura with him as Harri hurriedly composed herself as though she hadn't just been talking to the immortal being who controlled everyone's passage through death.

Naruto stood frozen in the doorway as what he had felt abruptly disappeared. He blinked, then shook whatever had come over him off before stepping warily into his apartment. What he had learned tonight had shaken him. Shaken him to his core. Iruka-sensei had said that he didn't care that Naruto housed the Nine-tails, but would Harri mind?

Before Harri could rush over to him and start demanding answers, Naruto blurted out, "Would you ever hate me?"

That question was odd enough that Harri stopped and furrowed her eyebrows together as she stared at the kid, "Why on earth would you ask that? What would even cause you to ask that?"

"Because I learned something really big tonight. Why everyone hates me." Naruto mumbled, "And I would totally get if you end up hating me too, even though Iruka-sensei still likes me…" Naruto broke off with a yelp as Harri's hand gentle slapped the back of his head.

Naruto looked up at Harri's exasperated face while rubbing his head.

"Kid, I can see you passed, you've got your headband thingy, so obviously whatever you learned hasn't affected your dreams in any way. And if you teacher still likes you then it's all okay. If it makes you feel any better, I had a piece of a man's soul in me for 17 years."

Naruto shot her a shocked look before mumbling out really fast, "I've got the nine-tails sealed into me."

Harri tilted her head for a moment before she slung an over Naruto's shoulder, initiating the contact for once, "You're still you and you managed to graduate. I expect the full story. Now grab my lamp kid, it's time to celebrate! To Ichiraku's we go!" she cheered.

Naruto was shocked by her complete dismissal, before a true smile appeared on his face. He ran and grabbed her lamp, stuffing it in his pocket, "Sweet! Double helping of Teuchi's ramen!" he cheered with her.

Harri took notice of what he said, but figured he would explain fully over a bowl of ramen. Besides, the kid could probably eat the entire world's supply of ramen and still be hungry. Harri's thought had proven right though; Naruto did have his own version of the Potter luck.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

**A/N::** Man, this chapter was a pain in the butt. It would not be written. Then I couldn't find a stopping point, blegh. I tried to work in Naruto actually fighting Mizuki, but it would have gone the same way as canon except Naruto also thinking about Harri, so it was scrapped. I also originally wasn't planning on bringing Death in, but surprise!

Speaking of Death, what Harri uses to call Death is, according to Wikipedia, the original Greek word for death. I choose Greek simply because it had the cool letters and Latin didn't. My iPod also said that was it, but I couldn't copy from my iPod so I hope that's right.

So I totally intended to put in how many more favorites/follows/reviews I had gotten since last chapter, but I forgot how many I had originally, and there was no way I was going through my email notifications to count them all, sorry! Just know that it's been a lot! And I love all you guys who do follow/favorite/review!

Also, shout out to my first Spanish review, oh yeah! Thanks eve-tsuki94!

News on pairings: they are evil. Romance is evil, so, as of right now, everyone is available as a pairing. I might just make it a gen fic.

Okay, enough rambling on my part, enjoy!


	7. Chapter 7

"You sure you want me to take it like that kid?" the photographer asked wearily as he stared at the, admittedly, really weird newly minted genin. As the official photographer, he was witness to many shinobi's transformations over the years. He had seen lots of weird people, but this kid probably took the cake.

"Yes! Just take it already!" he shouted, annoyance mixing in with his usual exuberance.

With a long-suffering sigh, he readied his camera, making a mental note to send the genin straight to the Hokage. Surely the Hokage would be able to convince the genin to retake his picture.

There was a flash as the button was regretfully pushed, and Naruto posed correctly. The photographer gave another all-suffering sigh at the picture that was now on his shinobi I.D., he shook his head once, "Head to the Hokage now."

Naruto cheerfully grabbed his paper and started to head off.

Harri meanwhile, was rolling around on the floor laughing at how ridiculous this whole thing was. She had offered to help, but Naruto had stubbornly refused her help, and Harri had to admit, it did look decent. Then she had found out what it was for and had been laughing practically the entire time Naruto was posing. It had made posing a bit more difficult, but Harri rarely laughed, so Naruto said nothing but let her laugh. Besides, she had a nice laugh.

"You look so ridiculous." She managed to get out.

Naruto flashed her a brilliant smile, but said nothing.

"Although you might want to get cleaned up if you are going in front of the Hokage. After all, he is a really important person." Harri managed to say semi-seriously before catching sight of Naruto and beginning to giggle again.

Naruto got a thoughtful look on his face before changing his direction slightly to clean up a bit. That was one thing Harri didn't miss about Naruto was his argumentative behavior. At least with her; he still picked a fight with Sasuke practically every time he saw him. Maybe one day he would grow past that too.

They walked quickly through the building, seeing close to nobody, although the ones they did see had to do a double-take when they saw Naruto. He didn't seem to notice their stares though and happily entered the bathroom to get cleaned up.

Harri meanwhile, leaned against the door a few down from the bathroom that Naruto had gone into, content with just watching the passing shinobi as they went about their business. As of right now, Harri hadn't tried super hard to interact with them. After all, they were shinobi, ninja's using her own terminology. They could do feats that even wizards would probably respect. Harri really wanted to duel with one of them, just to see how magic and chakra compared. One thing for sure, it would definitely be an interesting battle.

Harri was brought out of her musing by the door opening and a newly cleaned off Naruto exited, furtively looking around for her.

"Over here Naruto." She called out, standing up straight and following after Naruto as he shot her a quick grin.

The photo had been taken on the roof of the Hokage's office, so it really wasn't that long of a trip, clean-up side path or no. Although it seemed to take a long time simply because the Hokage did have a lot of work to do.

Finally they were let in to see him, and good thing too because Naruto had just started to look bored.

He handed his i.d. to the Hokage and then took his seat. As he had to walk a bit of a ways back, he missed the original glance that the Hokage gave the i.d., Harri let out a snort. The Hokage seemed entirely too resigned to the fact that Naruto would always be pulling these types of stunts.

There was silence as Hiruzen stared at the paper, and Harri went to stand behind Naruto, before the Hokage said simply, "Hm, take it again."

"What! Come on Old Man! I worked for like three hours on that paint! There's no way I'm going to retake it!" Naruto stubbornly said, folding his arms and pouting like a child.

"Naruto, we use these i.d.'s to identify every shinobi who go through the system. You can't even tell that this is you!"

"Hmph. I spent three hours on that Old Man! And…" Naruto started to protest, arms starting to wave around in his agitation before a creak of the door made all three of them glance over. The door suddenly flew open though.

"I hope you're ready Old Man!" a young voice shouted as a small blur started to attack the Hokage. Harri felt like she should be vaguely worried but couldn't really bring herself to do anything about it. However, it was obvious that the kid was just that, a kid, when he tripped over his own ridiculously long scarf and fell on his face.

Harri let out a snort at that.

The kid lay there for a moment, clutching at his face, before he started to get up, grumbling about his face being hurt. No one seemed very keen to help the kid get up though, just to sit and watch in slightly stunned silence on Naruto's part at the very audacity the kid had.

Another person burst through the door, although it was less surprising than before. This person grated on Harri's nerve already, even more so when he spoke.

"Honorable grandson! Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?" he asked frantically, pushing his sunglasses up on his face. Harri stared at the man with a bit of disgust on her face. He just gave off a creepy-vibe. Then he looked at Naruto with that same dead glare she had seen some of the other shinobi give him and Harri's opinion of this man was settled.

She was about to enter his mind when a yell made her look back at the two boys. Naruto was holding the younger kid up by his scarf and was glaring at the kid.

"Like I care, stupid!" he yelled before whacking the kid on the top of his head, causing the kid to hit the ground again.

"Naruto! You can't just go around hitting people!" Harri scolded slightly.

Naruto sent her a small glare too, but ignored her for the most part.

"Naruto! That was the Most Honorable Grandson of the Third Hokage! You can't go around hitting him!" the creepy guy protested, pushing his sunglasses up again.

This time, both Naruto and Harri shot the man a glare, even if he only saw Naruto's.

"Whatever. See you Old Man!" Naruto finally called, leaving the others behind.

"Alright, to Ichiraku's! Time for you to pay up Harri!" Naruto called cheerfully to her, scolding long forgotten by now.

Harri huffed, "I've already paid up for you graduating. If anything, you owe me for scaring me like that!" she argued lightly,

"Ah! But Harri!" Naruto whined happily at her, "I won the rock-paper-scissors game last night!"

Harri opens her mouth to protest, because he most certainly did not win last night before closing it with a snap at remembering. Naruto did win, but he totally cheated, "Well, you cheated! You can't use the tickle attack during a game of rock-paper-scissors."

"You really aren't a shinobi are you Harri?" Naruto asked rhetorically instead, "And you're the one who told me that rule too!"

Harri flushed lightly at the reminder, but choose to instead ignore him and walk ahead of him a bit ways. Naruto's laughter however followed her.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"How's our little shadow doing?" Harri asked lightly later, purposefully not looking behind her, even though she could totally get away with it. At the reminder though, Naruto scowled.

"He's annoying." Naruto muttered under his breath at her, mindful of the civilians they were passing.

Harri shot an amused glance over her shoulder at the kid currently hiding behind a fence-sheet, "I can even spot him. His hands are showing."

"Was I really that bad?" Naruto asked quietly as he glared at the ground in front of him.

"Of course not. You were better, didn't show your hands or feet." Harri snorted, turning to walk backwards as she watched the kid hide.

Naruto's patience was as short as ever though and he soon turned around pointing to where the kid was hiding, "Hey! Stop following me kid! I can see you right there!"

There was a snicker, then the sheet was lowered to reveal the kid, "So the rumors about you are true. You are good. Teach me!" he demanded all in one breath.

Only Harri seemed to notice the tensing and then the relaxing of Naruto's shoulder's at the kid's words.

"Wha…? Why would I teach you, you little brat?" Naruto yells in response.

"You've got to teach me that jutsu that you used on Grandfather! Come on Boss!" the kid pleaded with Naruto.

Harri was ready to just turn and leave when Naruto spoke up, "Alright, if you can prove you can do it, I'll teach you!" Harri let out a groan and hit her head on the side of a nearby building at Naruto's offer. Of course he would offer his help. Maybe it was his genes or something similar that caused him to be nice to everyone.

There was a big plume of smoke that Harri had come to attribute with that transforming technique that they used and Harri glanced over and nearly choked at the sight. Obviously the kid was going for that disturbing sexy thing Naruto sometimes used, but the kid's was hideous.

"That is hideous." Harri stated as she stared at it.

"Be nice Harri! It's his first time!" Naruto whispered quietly to her, "Okay Konohamaru, get rid of it."

There was another plume of smoke that dissipated to reveal the eager face of the kid, "Well boss? What about that?"

"Really bad." Harri said bluntly, even though the kid couldn't see her, much less hear her. Naruto could however and shot her a glare before turning his back to her in an attempt to block out her comments.

"Bad." He said bluntly, "That's not going to work! She needs to have curves! Yours looked like a whale!"

The kid, Konohamaru Harri reminded herself, got a determined expression on his face, "You got it boss!" before he attempted the transformation again.

"Curvier!"

A poof.

"Taller!"

And so it went on.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

By the time the kid had exhausted himself, the trio had moved to the forest to give the boys more privacy to practice. Harri was entertaining herself by casting spells at various trees and seeing how it reacted.

"So Naruto, who's shooting the little lights?" Konohamaru asked innocently as he eyed a tree that had a branch fall to the ground a moment ago.

Naruto and Harri froze as they took in his words. Naruto had ramen slipping from his mouth as his brain short-circuited. Harri had decided to put in some fancy moves as she shot spells at trees, so she froze with one leg raised behind her like she had just pitched a baseball.

As the two stared at the kid, Harri broke the silence by falling as she lost her balance, "He can see my spells?" she squeaked out as she watched the kid in shock.

"…What?" Naruto eventually said eloquently as he stared wide-eyed at Konohamaru.

"Someone else is here with us. You make too many comments to no one. And there's bright flashes of light occasionally over there." Konohamaru said, pointing in Harri's general direction.

Harri just gaped at the kid.

Naruto shot her a wide-eyed look, but Harri had no advice for him.

Eventually, Naruto just shrugged when no advice came from Harri, "A couple months ago, a lamp hit me on the head. So I took it home, and when I rubbed it, out came a genie. Of sorts. Her name is Harri. She's from another world."

Konohamaru's eyes were wide as he listened to Naruto's story, "No way, really?"

Naruto nodded seriously, "Really."

Harri fully expected Konohamaru to just pass it off then, to say Naruto was crazy, but then his eyes locked with hers.

"No way." He breathed out, "That's so cool!" he shouted, before running over and holding a hand out for Harri to shake, "Nice to officially meet you, my name's Konohamaru!"

Harri carefully stood up, brushed herself off, then cautiously took Konohamaru's hand, "Harri. Nice to meet you."

"Hey Harri, that's two other people who can see you now!" Naruto said excitedly, "Soon, everyone will be able to see you and you won't be so lonely now! Isn't that exciting?"

A pang went through her at the thought, "Yeah, I suppose it would be exciting." She said softly as she examined the kid in front of her more seriously, "So does this mean you have that jutsu completed yet?"

Konohamaru smiled, "You bet! Naruto is the best teacher ever! Come on, come join us!" the he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the log that the two boys had been sitting on. Konohamaru sat back down next to Naruto and Harri sat on the ground on the other side of Konohamaru, leaning against the log.

"So, come on, tell us about you then!" Konohamaru said, excited that he was one of three people able to see the mysterious girl who could shoot light and do destructive things with that light.

Harri leaned her head back against the log and quirked an eyebrow up, "How about a question for a question. That way we learn more about each other and not just me."

Konohamaru shrugged, "Sure, why not? Can I ask first?" at her nod, he continued, "Are you a ninja from another world or are you a ghost from another world?"

"In my home world, what I use is called magic. I'm a witch, guys are wizards. Only a small portion of people are born with magic, so the magical world is hidden from the 'normal people'. Our magical cores grow erratically during childhood and don't settle down until about 11. That's when you are invited to attend a magical school somewhere in your area. You go through seven years of schooling before you're authorized as legal adults in the magical world at 17." Harri explained, avoiding all the bad stuff that came with it.

"That's so cool! So is magic like chakra?" Konohamaru asked eagerly.

Harri shrugged, "No idea. We haven't tested it yet. I don't think so though. I think magic and chakra are very different things that come as a result of two different worlds. But it's my turn now kid."

"Oops, sorry."

"No harm done, so is the Hokage like a king or something?"

"Sort of, although technically the Daimyo is the official ruler of the Land of Fire, the Hokage is in charge of the village." Konohamaru explained.

At least the kid got the explanation better than Harri did from simply reading those books. Outdated, stupid books that were the only versions Naruto could get from the stupid villagers.

"So, how did you end up here?" Konohamaru asked, slurping up some of the ramen noodles that Naruto had managed to hide away somewhere and somehow keep warm. Seriously, he always found a way to heat up ramen.

And trust the kid to ask one of the hardest questions to answer without giving away everything. Harri let out a sigh as she watched the clouds pass by.

"There was a war. A big one. Between two factors who had very different views on who should be allowed to learn magic. One side favored only those with pure blood and if you had any other views besides theirs you were beneath them. The other side believed everyone should have an equal opportunity. At least, that's how it was advertised. In reality, both sides had messed up views, and to be honest, it was just a big mess. Politically it was the worst nightmare ever. I was subjected to a prophesy that both sides believed in. I was supposed to kill the Dark Lord. The problem was I didn't fit the stereotypical hero mold. So when the final battle was finally over and I had defeated the Dark Lord, I was betrayed, brought before the corrupt government and they then proceeded to label me as unstable and likely to destroy them all. A truly despicable person who I hate found an old lamp, bound me to it, and chucked me into the Veil, a highly unstable piece of magic on its own. Most times it killed a person. For me, it sent me through to other worlds or dimensions, whatever you want to call it. I only survived thanks to an unlikely friend. I've been stuck to the lamp ever since, traveling through various worlds and rarely granting wishes. Recently, I was tossed though another portal and hit him on the head with my lamp. And that's my story." Harri said tonelessly. She had buried all feelings on the matter long ago. Feelings didn't help her at all. Why should she start now?

Suddenly, she found herself surrounded on two sides with both boys hugging her. Bewildered she stared at the tops of their heads, or at least their hair.

"What are you two doing?" she finally asked.

"Grandpa says when someone is sad you need to hug them to make them feel better." Konohamaru said thickly. Naruto just grunted a little and tightened his hold.

Harri wrapped her arms around the two boys in response and gave them a quick squeeze in return, "Thanks guys." After a moment though, she gently pushed them away, "Alright, enough pity party. Do you have any questions Naruto?" something was bothering him she could tell. She just wasn't sure what.

"Yeah, Konohamaru, why do you want to be Hokage?" Naruto asked.

Konohamaru looked down at his cup of ramen before answering, "The only thing people see when they look at me is 'Honorable Grandson of the Third Hokage', they don't see me, Konohamaru. So I have to become Hokage so they will see me and respect me for who I am."

"You know, there's no shortcuts to Hokage." Naruto said.

"Huh?"

"You can't take the short path of shinobi. It just won't work. It takes hard work to get there, and you need lots of support from your friends, you just can't take shortcuts. It's not the shinobi way. Besides…" here Naruto shot Konohamaru a grin, "I'm gonna be Hokage first so you have to beat me shrimp!"

There was a short silence as Konohamaru looked at Naruto with something akin to hero worship in his eyes before they were rudely interrupted.

"There you are Honorable Grandson! I've been looking all over for you, your grandfather was getting worried." It was Konohamaru's stupid teacher, "Now come on, if you want to be Hokage, we must continue your lessons, I'll give you the way to become Hokage!"

"No way! Your lessons are boring! And besides, I can't take the shortcut to Hokage!" Konohamaru shouted jumping up and pointing at his tutor, "Besides, here's something that I learned! Sexy jutsu!" he shouted before the customary smoke plume appeared before disappearing and revealing that, yes, Konohamaru did indeed master the jutsu. However it only stayed a second before disappearing.

"Hey, how come he's not defeated?" Konohamaru asked, watching his tutor disappointedly.

"Wha…? Well I have never seen such a vulgar display my entire life!" he shouted in response, grabbing onto his students scarf. It made for an interesting scene to see the tutor attempt to drag Konohamaru off with said kid resisting with all his might.

"Hey you!" Naruto shouted. When the two looked over, Naruto raised his hands in a familiar sign, "Shadow Clone jutsu." He said before his clones came to life, filling the small clearing. The tutor snorted condescendingly.

"You may have beaten Mizuki, but I'm much better than Mizuki. I am Ebisu, special jonin." He said as he walked into the middle of Naruto's clones.

Harri recognized the glint in Naruto's eyes and hurriedly escaped the middle of the clearing going to stand by Konohamaru. She glanced down at the kid who was watching the coming battle eagerly, "If you want to be mentally scared by perverted actions, look. If not, look away." Harri advised before turning to look at the leaves, pretending that they were the most interesting things on this world.

"But, Harri…" Konohamaru started before Naruto shouted his Harem jutsu. Konohamaru made an interesting sound in his throat before whipping around, "I did not need to know that my tutor was a closet pervert." He murmured to Harri. Harri made a sound of agreement before turning back around as the audible poofs of Naruto's clones disappearing came.

Harri and Konohamaru examined the scene in amusement, "Now that's what I call an easy battle." Harri said smiling as Konohamaru cheered and rushed to Naruto.

"Come on Harri, let's get ramen to celebrate." Naruto called, waving her over excitedly.

Harri laughed and walked over to join them, "You and your ramen. Will the addiction never end?" she asked good humoredly.

"Of course not Harri!"

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

Hiruzen watched the scene in interest. Especially the black-haired girl that he had suddenly been able to see following Konohamaru's introduction. When Naruto had first brought the idea up, he had dismissed it, even though in the following months Naruto had improved leaps and bounds. He wasn't entirely sure what to do about the situation though. As Hokage he had seen lots of weird things, by now he fully expected them. But a girl from another world who was bound to a lamp that could somehow grant wishes probably topped his weird list. She hadn't caused any major headaches so far, and Naruto trusted her inexplicably it seemed like and he seemed to have a mostly good instinct for that sort of thing. Perhaps the next time Naruto visited he would bring the topic up. For now though, Hiruzen would leave the issue alone.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

**A/N:: **Alright, so this was really long it seemed like.

Surprise! Konohamaru was the first besides Teuchi to see her! And then Hiruzen because of his grandson. Wasn't that a curveball? Although I was not originally planning on having Konohamaru being the next one to see her.

So I now have a plan for the most part on how the story will go but I'm a bit worried that it's an evil plan and you guys might hate me. Then again, it's not the worst idea out there (in my opinion) so we'll see how it turns out.

I'm not planning on doing every episode, mainly because they take forever! And some of the filler arcs I don't plan on doing because I find them really boring, but any suggestions I'm still open to.

If you spot any spelling and/or grammer errors, let me know! I have no beta to do this for me.

Shout out to musme for being my French review for the last chapter!

In case anyone cares, the stats from last chapter are 55 reviews, 383 follows, and 234 favorites! Look at how much it has changed from last chapter! That's so exciting! Right now it's at 71 reviews, 493 follows, and 315 favorites!

Yeah for everyone! Enjoy the story!


	8. Chapter 8

"Team Seven; Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha."

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"I can't believe it! I have to take another test! This isn't fair." Naruto grumbled next to Harri.

Kakashi had asked for the group to meet at a specific training ground at any unholy hour of the morning. Naruto was excited, but Harri's thoughts were more bordering on painful ways to kill someone.

On Harri's side as she walked though, she was more concerned with walking in a straight line. It was far too early in the morning for her taste, and she would have much rather be in the lamp traveling than out walking, but Naruto had asked, and said blond was very persuasive. He had gone to bed late, keeping Harri up, and then woke her up early. The lamp may have frozen her time, but when she was out of it, time affected her just like every other normal person.

Harri just made a vaguely affirmative noise in reply to Naruto's statement though when he repeated more of the same complaints. Getting up at five was just ridiculous, especially when you had orders not to eat (not that Harri really needed to eat anyways, she had just gotten used to it with Naruto). Harri was glad that wizards at least had some sense when it came to sleep.

Shinobi on the other hand...

Turning one last glance at the energetic boy beside her, Harri finally gave into temptation and de-summoned herself, the smoke receding back into the lamp. Dimly, she heard Naruto sigh, but soon she felt his speed increase. Naruto was obviously really excited about being a real ninja.

Just like Harri had been when she had found out about the wizarding world.

Instead of dwelling on that though, she just settled down onto her back, arms crossed behind her head as she stared at the ceiling of her lamp. Soon she had drifted of into a sort of sleep, true sleep not coming while in the lamp, thoughts drifting.

_'You speak to snakes?'_

_'Parseltongue!'_

_'She's the Master of Death!'_

_'Dangerous, can't be trusted.'_

_'Volatile. Scary.'_

_'A Dark Lady.'_

_'Traitor!'_

_'Kill them all, they killed my mother!'_

_'Death, just get rid of them all!'_

_'MURDERER!'_

With a gasp, Harri sat up, heart in her throat as she clutched at her throat. She hadn't had a nightmare in ages. Not since...

No, she wouldn't think of it. Not anymore. She should have been fine, she thought that it was all okay now.

"Hey Death?" she whispered softly into the air. She needed to speak to him, especially after the whole True Summoning instance two days ago.

There was silence for a long time, but Harri knew that eventually he would come. He had to after all.

Harri meanwhile could hear Naruto greeting his new teammates and their rather frosty reception to him. He had been late, but apparently their sensei wasn't even there yet. Naruto was fine then.

Suddenly, the air seemed to grow thicker for a moment before the temperature dropped before returning to normal, and then Death was there.

"Mistress." he greeted disdainfully. Obviously he was still feeling ticked off at her from her forcible Summoning and the return to the world that he wasn't the Death over.

"I'm sorry." Harri finally whispered as she stared at the floating being in front of her, "I had forgotten how much you hated being Summoned to a world in which you weren't the ultimate master. I had forgotten how it felt to worry about someone other than myself. So, I'm sorry."

There was a tense silence before Death spoke again, "Apologies do not suite you Mistress. I am Death, I was already aware of this. Do not dwell on a past on which you cannot change. You are here in this world, bonded to a similar child as yourself, perhaps it was meant to be. I do not expect you to randomly Summon me, you have always been fair. Do not worry yourself too much. But I must be going soon otherwise the souls start to pile up."

As the temperature started to drop again, Harri burst out, "Wait!"

The temperature drop froze as Death waited for her question.

"What's the year there? Last time I asked you said 2001, how about now?" Harri asked softly, terrified of the answer.

The being froze as he regarded her, "I am not sure that knowing such information would be good for you. You have finally started to heal. Knowing the year of your home world may not be the best decision."

"Please. I need to know." Harri pleaded softly, looking down at her boots and drawing them up to her chest.

A pause, then, "2016. Anything else?" Death asked in a tone that may have been considered soft, but with a being such as Death, it was difficult to say if he really did feel any sort of nicer emotion.

Harri closed her eyes as the hurt hit, but kept her voice still, "I see. Thank you. And I really am sorry."

"I know." the matter-of-fact tone was normal of Death. Then the temperature dropped, the air grew tense, and then he was gone.

The silence filled the lamp as Harri allowed a few tears to slide down her cheeks at the lost opportunity she had before she buckled her emotions down and locked them away. Tears didn't help. Not anymore.

"Hey Harri, My sensei's finally here, do you want to come out?" Naruto whispered softly by the lamp as he tapped it.

Harri scrunched her nose at the thought of participating in another test, but dutifully came out of the lamp. Then she had to do a double take when it appeared they were hiding in a bush.

"Naruto, why are you kneeling in a bush?" Harri asked, one corner of her mouth twitching upwards as her dark thoughts fled to the back of her mind, "And isn't that Sakura lying on the ground over there?"

Naruto spared a single glance towards the pinkette before he turned back to Harri, "Kakashi-sensei is giving us a test to get those two bells at his waist. Only two of us can pass to become genin. The other one is being sent back to the academy. I need you to get the bells."

"I am not helping you cheat." Harri said flatly., "Work on it yourself."

Naruto scowled at her, "But Harri...!"

"Absolutely not." she snapped back, "I am not helping you cheat your way to the top. Didn't you just tell Konohamaru about no short-cuts? Don't be a hypocrite." she scolded the blond.

He sighed, but then jumped out behind Kakashi, "I'm going to take those bells! I can't go back to the academy!" Naruto said as he used his shadow clone jutsu.

Harri then slapped herself in the face as Naruto was soundly beaten. That last attack, well, it was certainly effective. There was a splash as Naruto fell into the water and Harri spared him a single glance before reassuring herself that he would be okay.

There was quiet, and then a roar as a ton of shadow clones rushed Kakashi. On one hand, they did excellent against him, but then again, Kakashi was obviously holding back greatly against the three.

"Harri! Now!" Naruto shouted, causing Harri to look over at her Summoner. Naruto had managed to grab a hold of Kakashi and as his clones flew through the air at his sensei, Harri sniffed, and cast a half hearted stupefy which Kakashi easily dodged. He looked in Harri's direction, but saw nothing.

"Harri!"one of the clones complained to her as Naruto ended up starting to beat himself up as Kakashi switched with one of the clones.

"Naruto!" Harri whined back, "I told you to pass the test yourself. And if you waste your wish on this, I'm not going to make it pleasant on you." she warned, refusing to even look at the clone, and instead examining her nails for imaginary dirt. There was a pause, then a groan of defeat before the Naruto clone stomped away to join the fight.

"Although I will suggest that instead of beating yourself up, you try de-summoning your clones or however you get rid of them." Harri shouted a helpful hint as she watched the Naruto group start ot pound on each other.

There was a pause as the clones took in her words before getting an identical sheepish look on their faces before the clones disappeared in a big cloud of smoke. The smoke then dissipated to reveal the original Naruto rubbing the back of his head, "Heh, sorry about that Harri. Thank you for your help."

Harri rolled her eyes, but nodded and waved away the thanks, "Just try to use your head more."

"Oh look! A bell!" Naruto cried, pointing to a lone bell on the ground in front of a tree.

Harri could just make out the rope around it, and felt obligated to shout, "No, Naruto, wait there's...!" a sigh, "Never mind."

"Huh?! Hey! It was a trap!" Naruto shouted as he started struggling against the rope holding him up.

Kakashi appeared and reached down for the bell, "You used your technique well, but so did I. And to fall for such an obvious trick was stupid." at this, Naruto bristled almost and glared at Kakashi, "A ninja must always look underneath the underneath."

"I know that!" Naruto yelled, waving his arms around.

"Uh, no you don't. That's why I'm telling you." Kakashi said as he watched Naruto struggle. There were several times Naruto turned a pleading eye toward Harri, but she ignored his looks. Harri walked over and sat at the bottom of the tree that Naruto was tied at, but otherwise did nothing.

She looked up at him and told him, "Wait until your sure he leaves before really trying to escape. Otherwise you'll just embarrass yourself."

Naruto grumbled a little bit, but just folded his arms and glared at Kakashi again.

"Naruto, you..." Kakashi began before suddenly several weapons appeared out of the nearby trees and nailed Kakashi in the face and side. Blood seemed o spurt from the wounds as he fell to the side, Naruto yelling at Sasuke who had apparently thrown said weapons, but he abruptly cut off as Kakashi's falling body changed into a log. Harri tilted her head at the log, and looked around for the actual person, but he seemed to have really disappeared. Probably after the other two now that Naruto had pretty much been beaten.

"Well? Is he gone yet Harri?" Naruto finally asked.

"I think so." Harri said. Although to be sure, she whispered, "Homenum Revelio." Since Harri could already see Naruto, the spell didn't affect him, and nothing appeared to show Kakashi was still hiding somewhere near them, "Yep, you're good."

"Good." and then Naruto whipped out a kunai and sliced the rope holding him up. As he fell, he started grumbling at Kakashi, and then flipped to land on his feet, "No way am I getting caught in another one of Kakashi-sensei's traps." he finished his muttering as he landed in a crouch. There was a pause as Naruto looked out into the woods for any sign of them before turning to Harri.

"Hey Harri..." he started before suddenly he was whipped up again, "Now again!" he drew out the last word and Harri fell over laughing as Naruto started struggling even more than the first time and cursing his teacher to high heaven, "Curse you Kakashi-sensei!" he yelled.

And Harri just laughed away.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"Oh look lunch."

"I would suggest not Naruto."

"Eh, I'm hungry!"

…

"Heh, heh, oops? Sorry Kakashi-sensei?"

"Too late Naruto."

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

There was silence as they all stared at one another. But then the silence was broken by three stomach's growling consecutively.

"Uh-oh, stomach's are growling. By the way, I have an announcement about this exercise." Kakashi started. Harri took the moment when Naruto was distracted to whack him on the head.

"I told you to wait." she lectured him when he looked up at her.

"Well, I've decided. I won't send any of you back to the Academy." Kakashi announced pleasantly. A bit too pleasantly in Harri's opinion and she narrowed her eyes at Kakashi as she leaned against the pole Naruto was tied too.

"Really?" Naruto's excitement made Harri groan softly and hit her head against the side of the pole. He was so naive sometimes.

"What? I passed? But all I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?" Sakura questioned. Her statement made Harri groan again and hit her head against the pole harder this time.

Harri's disbelief at the two went unnoticed by Naruto however as he and Sakura were too busy prematurely celebrating.

"Yeah! We did it!" Sakura said in her high pitched voice.

"That means all three of us, all three of us!" Naruto said excitedly as well.

"Yes. All three of you are being dropped from the program. Permanently." Kakashi started out pleasant before his voice hardened as the two stopped celebrating to stare at him.

Harri stood up straight as she glared at Kakashi, trying to figure out his motive. Something was not right here.

Naruto looked at Harri with panic in his eyes. Harri spoke without looking at him, "Something's up with this whole thing. Wait a moment before you really start panicking."

Naruto gave her a miniscule nod before turning back to face Kakashi, "Drop us from the program? But that means we can never become ninja! You said if we couldn't get the bells, we would be sent back tot the Academy. You can't just change your mind and kick us out, why would you do that?!" Naruto's panic started to seep into his voice as he got louder and louder in his complaints against Kakashi's decision.

"Because you don't think like shinobi. You think like little kids, like brats." Kakashi explained, hands on his hips and head cocked to one side. He certainly did look like he was being forced to deal with a bunch of brats.

Sasuke apparently took deep offense to that because he took of for Kakashi, one hand stretched out, the other in his weapon pouch, reaching for something. However, Kakashi easily took Sasuke down. He ended up sitting on him, one foot on Sasuke's neck, and a hand forcing Sasuke's behind him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried.

"You think it's all about you." Kakashi said mockingly to Sasuke.

"Let go of Sasuke, you can't step on him like he's some bug!" Sakura screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. Harri winced and blocked the ear that was closest to the screeching girl.

"You don't know what it means to be a ninja, you think it's some sort of game. Why do you think we put you on genin teams, did you ever stop to question that?" Kakashi asked as though the kids in front of him were babies. Harri was starting to understand though, and could appreciate the tone he was using if what he was starting to suspect was right.

"I...I don't know what you mean!" Sakura complained.

"I mean... you never realized what this exercise was all about, not even close!"

"What it's all about?" Naruto questioned, then glanced over at Harri as she took a step forward.

"Yes. That's what determines whether you pass or fail."

"But that's, I mean, I wanted to ask you that from the beginning." Sakura tried to defend herself, albeit weakly in Harri's opinion. If she had wondered, why did she never ask?

Kakashi made a mocking noise as he stared at the remaining two standing members of his team, "Think. Use your head. Why would we put three members on a team?"

There was silence, Naruto tried to convince Harri with his eyes to tell him so he could appear smart, but Harri shook her head firmly, "Argh! How are we suppose to know? We didn't make the rules!"

"It's so basic. Teamwork." Kakashi said, disgusted with how idiotic his team was acting.

There was a shocked silence from the three kids as they took in his statement.

"If you don't have people to back you up, what's the point then?" Harri asked rhetorically as Naruto gave her an accusing look, "That's what he's getting at."

"Just working together? That's what you mean?" Sakura asked in disbelief of her sensei.

"That's what I mean. It's too late now, but if all three of you had come at me, then you might have been able to take them." Kakashi's head rose as he finished his rant.

"Wait a minute, but there's only two bells! Even if we did get them, one of us would still have to go back and it would have caused conflict within the team on who would have gotten the bells, leading the team to break up anyways!" Sakura complained.

"Exactly. I purposely pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could overcome your selfish desires and work past them as a team. A genin should have a natural feeling for teamwork. But you, it never even crossed your minds." now Kakashi just sounded tired as he explained everything to them.

"Sakura!" his tone turned sharp again and Harri prepared for the insults that were about to come Naruto's way. And even though they would probably be good observations, Naruto would still take them personally most likely.

"You obsessed about Sasuke who was gone. While Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him."

"Naruto, you do everything alone. Everything."

"And you Sasuke," Kakashi's foot increased the pressure a little bit on Sasuke's head, "Thought the others so far beneath you, they were worthless. Arrogance." Kakashi hissed out the last word as he continued on, "Shinobi missions are carried out in teams. Yes you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this. When they don't, this leads to the mission failing and even death. For example," Kakashi pulled out a kunai and planted it near Sasuke's neck.

"Sakura. Kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies." he stated seriously. Naruto and Sakura both freaked out a little at the implication and Harri stiffened as she took a step closer to Naruto protectively.

"That's what happens on a mission." Kakashi said as he removed the kunai from Sasuke's neck. Sakura and Naruto both let out a sigh of relief and Harri stepped away from Naruto again, "The enemy takes a hostage and you have to make an impossible decision. And someone ends up dead." Kakashi continued as he spun the kunai around his finger before putting it away and getting up off of Sasuke.

"On every mission your life is on the line." Kakashi started walking towards the big stone in front of the group as he continued on, "Did you look at the stone? All the names engraved on it? They are all shinobi who are honoured in our village."

"That's it! That's it! I'm going to have my name engraved on that stone! I'm going to be honoured as a hero and everyone will respect me! I'm not going to live and die like a dog!" Naruto said excitedly as Sasuke made his way back towards the Naruto and Sakura, "I'm going to be a hero, a hero!"

"These people are a special type of hero." Kakashi said slowly.

"Well, well, what type of hero? Tell us, tell us!" Naruto pleaded. Harri stepped aside to avoid Sasuke as he came back.

"They are all... KIA." Kakashi said finally.

Harri sucked in a deep breath as she looked at the stone with new eyes.

"Oh... that sounds cool!" Naruto said. Harri reached over and slapped him upside the head.

"It means killed in action. They all died." Sakura explained. Naruto's exuberant smiled faded as he realized what he had just said and he looked to the side.

'_Fred'_

"This is the Memorial Stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here."

There was silence as the three who had never experienced war looked away from the obviously grieving man. Sasuke may have witnessed his parent's death, but it was still different from seeing the horrors of war.

"Alright. I'll give you one more chance. But it's going to be much harder this time. Eat lunch now to build up your strength. Except for you Naruto. Consider it your punishment for trying to break the rules and eat early. And if anyone tries to feed hi, that person will immediately fail. I make the rules. And you follow them, got it?"

There was a tense silence before Kakashi seemed to get an unknown signal from the three and then disappeared.

Sasuke and Sakura hesitantly pulled out the lunches and started eating them.

"If they don't share with you, I'm going to make their lives difficult myself." Harri swore to herself as she watched the two eat in front of her young charge.

Of course, then Naruto's stomach growled loudly and the two looked up at Naruto. Embarrassed he spoke loudly, "That's okay, I can go days without food, weeks even! Believe it!" another loud growl permeated the silence though and Naruto's shoulders hunched.

"Here." surprisingly, Sasuke held out his lunch to the tied-up boy and Harri looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected Sasuke to be the one who would offer his lunch.

Predicatively however, Sakura complained, "You can't do that! You heard what Kakashi-sensei said!"

"Kakashi-sensei isn' here. We have to work as a team to get those bells, and if Naruto's hungry, he won't be acting at full strength and that will bring down the team and jeopardize the mission." Sasuke explained efficiently, keeping an eye out in case Kakashi came back early or something.

"Oh, here you go!" Sakura offered finally, holding out her lunch too.

"Really? Thanks Sakura!" Naruto said excitedly, as though Sasuke hadn't just offered part of his lunch as well.

"Don't thank me, hurry up and eat!" Sakura snapped as she too looked around for Kakashi.

"I can't, I'm all tied up!" Harri could see the beginnings of a bad idea in his head, but let him say it anyway, "You'll have to feed me!"

"What!?" Sakura yelled.

"Hurry up, Kakasi-sensei could come back any minute now." Sasuke hissed at the two, taking his lunch back and picking up his chopsticks again.

"Ugh, fine. This is one time only. I'm never doing this again, got it!"

"Crystal!" Naruto agreed.

Naruto only got one bite in however before a huge dust cloud appeared in front of them. And then Kakashi appeared.

"You! You broke the rules, I hope you're ready for the punishment!" Kakashi went through some handsigns and the clouds darkened as wind appeared out of nowhere and whipped the group's clothing around. Harri held up an arm to help hold back her hair as she watched with interest.

"Any last words?" Kakashi asked dangerously.

"But, but you said to work as a team!" Naruto protested.

"Yeah, we're all in this together." Sasuke agreed.

"Yeah, the three of us as one!" Sakura added in.

"The three of you as one? That's your excuse?" there was a tense silence as Kakashi stepped closer to them and leaned down to them, "Well then, you pass." he said it so simply that everyone, including Harri, just stared at him for a moment. There was a collective 'huh?' moment as all three genin stared at him.

"You. Pass."

"What do you mean? How'd we pass?" naturally it was Sakura who asked the slightly stupid question.

"You're the first team who didn't follow my instructions exactly. They couldn't think for themselves. A shinobi must see through deception." as Kakashi stood up, the sky brightened again, "In the shinobi world, those who brake the rules are scum, that's true. But, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

There was now a content silence as everyone took in his words. Naruto especially seem effected because tears started to form in his eyes. Sasuke even let out a smile.

"He's, you know, 'kinda cool." Naruto blubbered. Harri snorted at the sight, but a smile was on her face nonetheless.

"Team Seven has been cleared for duty. Tomorrow we take on our first mission." Kakashi gave them all a thumbs-up as he finished.

"Yes!" Sakura cried.

"I did it! I did it! Believe it! I'm a shinobi! I'm a shinobi!" Naruto cheered to himself, absolutely ecstatic.

"Come on, let's head back to the village now." Kakashi said before he turned and started to lead the way back.

Sakura and Sasuke followed him, and only Harri was left to stand by Naruto as the boy shouted, "Hey, you forgot to untie me! This always happens!"

Harri shook her head at the actions of his team, but turned to the ropes, "Diffindo." the ropes fell off, and Naruto turned and gave Harri a big hug.

"Thanks! Let's go get some ramen now!"

"After you find out what time you have to meet tomorrow." Harri reminded him, gesturing to the still receding backs of his teammates and sensei.

"Oh, right! Come on Harri!" Naruto shouted, before running to catch up with the others, "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, what time are we meeting tomorrow?" Naruto asked when he was finally close enough.

"Hm? Oh, let's say 8 o'clock." Kakashi told him after a second of thinking. Naruto shot him a 100-watt smile before giving him a thumbs-up.

"Alright, I'll be there on time! Believe it!" then he turned and ran off after making sure Harri was following him. It was time for some celebratory ramen!

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

**A/N::** So, sorry about the long wait. It's been almost a month since the last update. First the computer I was using got filled, like the memory was absolutely filled, I couldn't even open things up for a bit. Then my dad took forever in giving me his old one that I'm going to be using for college. Then my grandma passed away and that was a challenge. Ugh.

And of course, this chapter was a pain in the butt to get out. My gosh. So. Painful. I scrapped like five versions of it before I finally found how I wanted to do it. And it still took forever!

Okay, so Death says it's 2016 in 'Wizarding Earth'. I think that's when the actual epilogue took place in the book, but I'm not entirely sure. If it is, will you guys let me know?

I just spent the last two days anime binge watching Soul Eater, and it was pretty good. Of course, I was going stir fry crazy in my house, so there's that too.

If you guys spot any mistakes, I would really appreciate you telling me!

I had my first bad review last time I updated, and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. But it was useful because it didn't utterly destroy my confidence, yeah!

I only have like three weeks left until college starts, ahh!

So in case anyone cares, (I do because it's exciting to me at least). The stats from last chapter were 71 reviews, 493 follows, and 315 favorites. Right now its at 87 reviews, 627 follows, and 397 favorites.

All of you guys are amazing! Thank you so much for reading this story! Enjoy!


	9. Chapter 9

"Catch it! Catch it! Don't let it get away!"

"The area to your left is open!"

"No! Don't let it get past you!"

"Screw you Kakashi! This is a horrible mission!"

Said sensei was currently leaning against a seemingly random tree, his Icha Icha pulled out as he read through it. To most, it was a common sight and ignored him. But the wire leading up to his ear told a different story. And if most people took a closer look, they would see that Kakashi wasn't really trying to read his book, more randomly flipping the pages when he felt enough time had passed by. But of course, most people wouldn't notice this miniscule details because Kakashi was surrounded by civilians as he listened to his cute little genin team attempt to catch the most dreaded mission of all: Tora.

The Daimyo's wife visited often; to 'check on the state of things'. No one knew if she really took these visits seriously, especially as the door remained closed to her and the Hokage's visits. And if the ANBU knew, they weren't telling. Rumors circulated often among the shinobi corps, but none had been proven or disproven. Kakashi's personal theory was that the Daimyo's wife purposely let her cat loose, and sometimes went the step further and figured that she trained the stupid cat. Enough genin had chased after it and yet the cat still continued to escape.

"Come on Kakashi-sensei! Work with us here!" that was Naruto, of course. He seemed especially frustrated because he was the one finding the cat the most, yet the cat seemed to loathe his very existence. And since Naruto wasn't the most patient of people anyway, he rarely waited for his teammates to catch up to help get the cat.

"Please Kakashi-sensei!" pleaded Sakura, "Can't you give us a hint?"

Kakashi thought about it a moment before replying, "Teamwork."

"We've been working as a team!" Sakura and Naruto both yelled over the comm link, making Kakashi sweat drop. Then, he heard murmuring from Naruto before the blond spoke again.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei." he grumbled finally.

So. Sarutobi's observations weren't complete ramblings. Kakashi had certainly found the idea far-fetched. His cute little student had an invisible friend who had no chakra? Yeah right, sounded like a story. The Hokage's observations were also correct in that Naruto's invisible friend was becoming a sort of older-sister figure to him. That was good, Naruto needed some help who wouldn't get blocked by the council.

"Who are you talking to Naruto?" Sakura screeched over the link, "If we fail because of you...!"

"Calm down Sakura! I was talking to myself!" Naruto snapped back. Clearly his patience was gone if he was snapping at her. Kakashi felt worry go through him as the two started arguing with each other. If they kept this up, they would definitely fail the mission.

"Okay, re-group at the training ground." Kakashi finally interrupted the two, straightening up and putting his beloved book away. He could faintly hear Sasuke's sigh of relief and smiled faintly in response. At least the boy showed some sort of emotion.

As Kakashi took off for the roofs, he listened to his genins as they continued to argue faintly with each other. It sounded as though Sakura and Naruto had somehow managed to meet up. Great. At least over the past week, Naruto had started to spend less and less time following her. It seemed that he was finally realizing that although Sakura could be nice, to him she generally showed her bad side.

If they finished before their time was up today, Kakashi planned on working on chakra control. Heavens knows that the boys needed it. Sakura most likely didn't with her small reserves.

With a last bound, Kakashi landed in front of his bickering team, "Alright guys, cut it out. If we finish in time, I have something to teach you guys."

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but abruptly stilled, his eyes glancing towards his right before he closed his mouth with a quiet huff that escaped his two teammates notice. Interesting.

"What are we supposed to do though Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura whined, "We can't find the cat anywhere!"

"Well, Naruto found the cat the most." Kakashi pointed out. Naruto adopted a faintly guilty look on his face, but didn't speak up.

"But he isn't waiting for us! The stupid cat keeps getting away!" she continued.

"Well, the cat is currently in the woods behind us." Kakashi said pleasantly and ignoring his two louder students protests and shouting, "What do you think we should do?"

"Split up and approach from four different directions." Sasuke spoke up for the first time that day, effectively plowing over the argument that was starting behind him. A tick was starting to develop over his eye, so Kakashi resolved to have a talk with his other two students. Because in all honesty, this was ridiculous. Weren't Sasuke and Naruto the rivals?

"Good thinking Sasuke. Come on you two. Naruto, you head in from this direction straight ahead. Sakura, circle around to the rear and come that way. Sasuke, go to the West and approach from that direction. I'll approach from the East. Any questions?" Kakashi waited only a second before eye-smiling at the trio, "Good, head to your positions. And don't worry, the cat is loud enough on its own that you can't miss it."

Sasuke and Sakura took off, circling around where they assumed the cat would be to get to their positions. Kakashi also took off, but hid nearby to observe his sensei's son.

And after a moment, Naruto turned seemingly to nothing before saying, "Sakura's starting to really piss me off."

A moment of silence.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. No need to shove it in my face." then Naruto grinned and Kakashi was surprised by how different this grin was to the ones he usually flashed. Kakashi hadn't realized how fake his other ones were until he saw this one.

Kakashi tried to use his sharingan to see Naruto's friend, but the space around him remained clear of any other signs of chakra. And that was odd, because everyone had chakra, and no seals existed where they could completely cover a persons chakra to the point where they didn't show up. At least, not when used in conjunction with a complete invisibility seal as well. Kakashi didn't think that even Minato could do it.

But it wasn't possible for her to be from another world. No such thing existed. Kakashi had asked Pakkun when he had first heard the Third's story, and his ninken had said that he had never heard of such a thing, and none of the others had ever heard of it. Not event the idea had occurred to them.

So somehow, this person was using chakra. It was the only explanation that Kakashi could think of. A little voice in his head suggested otherwise, but Kakashi had stopped listening to that voice a long time ago.

"Kakashi-sensei? We're in position." Sakura came over the comm link. Kakashi saw Naruto start before he fiddled with his comm.

"Wait! I'm not ready!" he sounded a bit panicked before racing off to the woods. Kakashi took Naruto's haste to cover his own movement as he used his jonin speed to arrive at his own spot before Naruto arrived at his.

"Okay now I am." he said after taking a deep breath.

"Good. When I say go, Naruto, you grab hold of the cat and don't let go. Sakura you're the next catcher if it escapes from Naruto. Sasuke, you'll be the last resort. If you don't catch the cat, it'll only run off again and you'll have to chase after it." Kakashi instructed.

"But why can't you also catch it?" Sakura seemed to be doing a lot of complaining today and internally Kakashi promised to make her pay for it tomorrow.

"Because I'm the sensei. Ready? Go!"

There was a flash as three genin launched themselves at the unsuspecting cat. Naruto did manage to grab hold of the cat, mainly because Kakashi showed up on the opposite side of the clearing where she was aiming to run, smelling like dogs. Tora was not going to be coming his way.

The cat scored a particularly deep scratch on Naruto's face, making him yelp and let go of the cat. Kakashi understood that, the scratch looked painful. Sakura attempted to catch it, but the cat easily dodged around her. Sakura was kind of pathetic sometimes.

Thankfully, Sasuke managed to snag the cat. He had a death grip on it as he stared into it's eyes. It was almost fascinating to watch the two have their staring match.

Then Sasuke actually growled at the cat. Tora shrunk into herself and Sakura took the opportunity to shove the cat into a bag they had brought with them but hadn't had the chance to use yet.

Both Sakura and Naruto let out a sigh of relief and even Sasuke' shoulders relaxed a bit once the bag was finally secured. Naruto raised a hand to his cheek to check out the damage that the cat had managed to do and winced a little at feeling the scratch. Kakashi was tempted to offer some chakra to help it heal faster, but he could almost see the edges start to disappear. At least the fox was good for something.

Naruto still held a hand to his face as Sakura whirled to him, "Why didn't you catch it?" she accused, "You had the stupid cat!"

Naruto's hand tightened on his face as Sakura yelled at him, oblivious to his discomfort. Sasuke noticed though and scowled at the pinkette.

"Sakura. That's enough." Kakashi finally interrupted, "Let's go."

She scowled at him, but quickly erased it when Kakashi leveled one of his looks at her.

"Sasuke, keep a hold of that cat." Kakashi ordered before leading the way out of the forest to the Hokage's tower for the debriefing to happen. And then Kakashi was going to be having words with his female student.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"I could hex her for you." Harri offered when she saw that Naruto was still scowling at Sakura's back. She really had pissed him off today, and her as well. Naruto looked at her with his eyes, but shook his head no. Even if his crush was almost gone, there was still a little bit left, besides, Naruto wasn't the type of guy to deliberately hurt others.

Naruto lowered his hand from his cheek to reveal it was nearly gone. Harri poked at the skin where the scratch had been, but Naruto showed no sign of pain. Perhaps just annoyance, as Harri continued to poke at it as they walked, but otherwise seemed completely fine.

"Now that's amazing. It's nearly gone already. I haven't had a chance to use any healing magic since I got here because you heal so quickly." Harri complained vaguely. She wasn't really upset, but she wanted to be a healer for a reason. But it was good that Naruto healed quickly.

Naruto finally had enough and pushed her hand away when it drew near his face again. It was a good thing he was the last in the line because it would have definitely look funny when he pushed her hand away and then turned to scowl at her.

Harri held up her hands and backed away from the smaller boy in amusement. His scowls were just too cute. Maybe one day they would be scary, but right now? They were just cute.

As they walked, Harri amused herself by tripping up Sakura every once in a while, conveniently when she was stepping over a branch or something similar. Naruto didn't say anything, so Harri just kept on continuing. Messing with people was fun. And it wasn't even Naruto's fault so she didn't have anyone to rant at either. Harri thought about doing a cliché evil villain laugh, but figured Naruto would probably try to hit her instead. He didn't seem to be in the laughing mood today.

"So what do you plan on doing next? Kakashi's probably aiming for another D-rank tomorrow, are you prepared for that?" Harri asked Naruto. At her question, Naruto scowled and resolutely shook his head. Harri raised an eyebrow at that, mainly because while Naruto had complained about the missions, he hadn't really protested them yet. Today seemed to be the day though. Harri was surprised he had lasted as long as he did though.

Harri dropped to walk behind Naruto as they came to a particularly thin part of the walking path and couldn't help but look at his team. If she tilted her head a little bit and squinted, and maybe used a little magic, she could just see why this team was put together. At least until she shot another tripping jinx at Sakura and the girl righted herself with a glare over her shoulder at Naruto as though he somehow caused her to trip. Which, Harri supposed, was sort of true. After all, Naruto was the one who brought her on this mission.

"Come on team, let's head to the roofs." Kakashi instructed when the village finally came into view. Harri wondered why he hadn't done it earlier, but shrugged it off quickly. Kakashi was weird enough.

Harri latched onto Naruto's back as he shot up to the roof. It wasn't quite the same as a broom, but it was decent. Harri loved to just tilt her head back and let the wind flow over her as they sped towards the Hokage tower.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

"Team Seven reporting mission success." Kakashi stated as Sasuke held the bag containing the cat as far away from his body as was polite. Iruka took the bag from Sasuke and opened it to reveal the ribbon on the cats ear.

"Excellent job, the Hokage is ready to assign your next mission. Just wait a moment while he finishes up with another team." he said, an easy smile on his face. At least he wasn't laughing in their faces about their mission.

"Hello Iruka-sensei." Sakura greeted her academy teacher politely. It was always amazing how nice she could be in comparison to her harpy part.

"Hello Sakura, how have you been doing?" Iruka replied politely. Even as the cat started to protest over its treatment again, Iruka kept a tight grip on the bag, obviously he wasn't one who felt pity for the cat. But then again, very few did. Most had chased after the cat and hated its very existence.

"Fine."

Yeesh, they were the perfect teacher-student. Utterly boring.

"Hi Iruka-sensei!" Naruto greeted enthusiastically as he bounced up to Iruka. Turning to him, Iruka smiled brightly at seeing the bright blond.

"Hi Naruto, how was the mission?" Iruka clearly knew Naruto very well and just watched amused as the blond scowled at the bag.

"That stupid cat! Why'd we have to catch it! I want a real mission!" Naruto complained. Iruka just chuckled and put his hand on Naruto's head. The blond froze, but Iruka just ruffled his hair.

"You'll get there one day, don't you worry." he said with a reassuring smile.

Naruto pouted, but ended up just grinning up at his favorite teacher.

"Speaking of the mission, how did you manage to find the cat so often? Were you cheating?" Sakura suddenly spoke up, leveling an accusing finger at Naruto.

Naruto didn't react at first as his eyes glanced to Harri. The witch tilted her head before replying with a shrug, "You could say you just sensed the cat or something like that. Aren't their people who can do that sort of thing?"

"Well?" Sakura demanded. Harri noticed how Sasuke was also watching closely too. Then she looked over at Kakashi to see him not even trying to hide his interest. Harri groaned at all the interest, but could do nothing about it.

Naruto finally replied with a shrug, "I just knew."

Sakura and Sasuke both scoffed at that, but Iruka and Kakashi had a pensive look on their face as they examined the nervous boy in front of them. Naruto wasn't used to this much attention ever. Besides, it wasn't that much of a lie. He could sense the general area of the stupid cat, but Harri had been the one to really find the cat. Her awesome spell could apparently find anything! Or at least, that's what he figured, Harri hadn't explained it too much. He wished that he could show off her skills to everyone, but he figured he would just do it later with the people who could see her.

"The Hokage is ready for you." it was the Hokage's secretary and the genin and Harri jumped because they hadn't heard her approach. Sometimes it really was scary how quiet the shinobi got. Harri kept an eye on the seemingly innocent secretary as they walked past her, but she stayed uninteresting even as everyone walked in.

"Ah, Team Seven, do come in." the Hokage was sitting at his desk as he looked through a pile of scrolls. He barely glanced up as a rather busty woman burst in, already speaking loudly about her 'poor, terrified, kitty'.

Iruka solemnly handed over the cat and the kids all watched with pity and horror as the cat was unceremoniously squished to her chest as she cooed to it.

"No wonder it runs away." Harri murmured to Naruto. He gave a small nod even as he watched with wide eyes as the cat was practically choked to death in the woman's grasp.

"Thank you so much!" then she handed a small pouch to someone who looked like a chunin before flouncing out of the room, still strangling the cat.

"Alright, good work Team Seven. Now, for your mission tomorrow, well, lets see. There's weeding Madam Mimi, or Mr. Furosake needs his barn repaired, or, how about..."

"No! I want a real mission Jiji!" Naruto complained loudly, "I want a real mission to prove I'm capable of being a ninja! Of being a shinobi!"

"Naruto! You can't just ask for a higher mission of the Hokage!" while Iruka knew of Naruto's informality with the Hokage, that didn't mean he would let his old student get away with disrespect like that.

In response, Naruto sat on the floor. Harri let out a sigh at his childish actions before gently kicking him in the side with her foot.

"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to ask nicely kid." she said exasperated. But Naruto ignored her too.

"Do you know the rankings of missions Naruto? They exist for a reason. Newly made genin take care of D-ranks, the mission requests in village. Older genin and low chunin take C-ranked as well as D-ranked. High chunin and low-jonin take B-ranked. Jonin take care of A-ranked missions. Do you understand why Naruto?" the Hokage asked the pouting kid on the floor in front of him.

"Yeah, so everyone's safe." he finally muttered. Of course, after Harri dug her foot in his side, more of a tickle than a kick. Unknown to both of them, Hiruzen watched the invisible, now visible to him, girl with curiosity. She clearly wasn't a ninja, her physique wasn't as good as his shinobi. But she did have some muscle mass. So she had seen some sort of action at least.

"But still Jiji! How are we supposed to learn if we're stuck working on chores?" his whining actually did have a point there. If he had asked just a bit later, Hiruzen would have gladly let them go on a very easy C-rank. The problem was that they had been genin only for a week.

Naruto hadn't learned nothing from all his time with the Hokage, he could see that his points were starting to win him over, "We'll have Kakashi with us to, so it's not like we'll be in any danger! We can handle ourselves! Please Jiji!" he pleaded.

Iruka opened his mouth to tell his pseudo-little brother absolutely not when another voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Alright Naruto. You can have your chance. There's a nice, easy C-rank here. It's escorting a bridge builder back to his home. You all should be just fine."he couldn't believe he was actually letting them go. Naruto's puppy-eyes were dangerous.

"Wha...? But, Hokage...!" Iruka started to protest, but was instead drowned out by Naruto, and surprisingly, Sakura's cheering. Even Sasuke looked pleased by the unexpected turn of events. Neither of them had actually expected Naruto to succeed. Kakashi turned his lone visible eye to the ceiling, but made no move to disagree.

Harri just shook her head at his silliness.

"Bring in the bridge builder Tazuna!" Hiruzen called to the jonin manning the door. He nodded, then walked off.

Naruto was getting more and more excited as he came up with grander and grander people who they would be escorting. It seemed he had missed the title 'Bridge Builder'. Or was deliberately ignoring it in the hopes it would turn out false and the person they were escorting was really a famous princess or whoever.

Harri smelled the guy before she saw him, before she even heard him. She wrinkled her nose at the thick smell of alcohol coming off of the man.

"Those guys? They're a bunch of brats!" he slurred a bit, before taking another swig of whatever he was drinking.

"This is the guy we have to escort? He doesn't look like much!" Naruto complained.

Hearing this comment, the man pointed his bottle at Naruto, "Well, none of you look like much, especially the small, annoying one."

It took Naruto a moment before he realized that he was the shortest of the team and threw a mini-fit. At least, until Harri came over and smacked the boy on the back of the head. Naruto wrinkled his nose at her, but didn't continue.

"You aren't allowed to kill the customer Naruto." Kakashi said calmly as his hand descended onto Naruto's collar, pulling him back away from the drunk man.

"Hm, meet me at the gate tomorrow at 9. I want to get home soon." the man, Tazuna, told the group before he shambled away to... somewhere. Harri wasn't too concerned over him.

"Alright, you heard the man. Tomorrow at 9." Kakashi informed his team, "Pack light, I don't expect us to take too long. Perhaps two weeks at most."

"Are you going to be on time sensei?" Sakura asked, her voice letting her doubt creep through. Kakashi just gave an eye-smile before pulling out his book and disappearing. The genin heard sighing from behind them, but they just ignored Kakashi's leaves as they walked out. He did it to them all the time anyway.

"See you tomorrow!" Naruto called before he turned towards Ichiraku's. Neither answered, but behind him, he heard Sakura predictably call after Sasuke which he, also predictably, ignored. Naruto rolled his eyes at their behaviour and stuck his hands in his pockets. Harri strolled next to him, looking relaxed as most people ignored Naruto.

"To ramen?" Harri asked eagerly. She enjoyed chatting with Teuchi, he had some interesting stories and treated everyone the same. He almost reminded her of Mr. Weasley with his acceptance of everything. They were similar after all, Teuchi took care of Naruto while everyone else didn't, and Mr. Weasley had always accepted her bringing her friends to his house as well. Even if not everyone had been happy about the decision.

Naruto nodded in response to her question eagerly and was about to let Harri on and take for the roofs when Iruka's voice stopped them.

"Naruto! Wait up!" he called as he spotted the boy a bit of the ways off. He paused at seeing the boy a bit bent over, but shook it off as Naruto stood back up with a sheepish expression on his face. One hand went up to rub the back of his head.

"You aren't mad at me Iruka-sensei are you? Because I really do think I'm ready. Me and the Teme." Naruto informed his teacher seriously.

"The correct version of what you just said is 'Teme and I.'" Harri muttered quietly under her breath.

Iruka just sighed before slinging an arm over his shoulder, "Come on, let me take you out for ramen before you leave tomorrow."

"So you aren't mad at me?" Naruto asked hesitantly as he looked up at Iruka, the worry evident in his eyes. As the two started walking, Naruto shot a glance over his shoulder to see Harri's shoulder slump slightly before she caught up to the two of them.

Iruka sighed, "How can I get mad at you? Perhaps a bit disappointed, disappointed that you're growing up faster than I expected. Next you'll be saying you want to take the Chunin exams. Of course, with Kakashi as your sensei, you might end up being signed up." he muttered the last part to himself, but refused to explain more when Naruto bugged him about it.

Harri walked ahead of them, making careful sure to stay within the bond limits. She shoved her hands into her pockets as she watched some birds fly from one building to another. She was getting too used to being acknowledged. That was the problem.

As they drew close to Ichiraku's, Harri glanced behind her to see the laughing forms of Iruka and Naruto. At least Naruto had somebody for him. That was good. It was good to see him acting like a normal kid.

She ducked into the shop and greeted Teuchi with a bright grin. Harri had heard he had a daughter, but she hadn't been around a lot. Harri wasn't sure if the girl was visiting a relative or what, but she hadn't been around lately.

"Hey Teuchi! How are you?" Harri greeted as she slid onto a stool, a bowl of ramen being deposited in front of her automatically with her favorite already ready. Her lit up at the sit and she threw a thank you in his direction as he headed back to the stove for Naruto's.

"Good, good. You?" he responded.

Harri shrugged in response, and then asked, "Don't you have a daughter? Where's she been lately?"

"Visiting relatives in another village, she is actually coming home soon. I am very excited." Teuchi smiled at the thought of his daughter coming home and Harri smiled as well at seeing the love in his face for his daughter.

"Hey Teuchi! Can I have a miso?" Naruto asked as he slid into the seat next to Harri.

"Of course, here you go." Naruto's bowl was prepped and waiting for him, as well as at least 10, just in case.

Iruka then started going for Harri's chair and her eyes widened as she tried to scramble out of the way. Even if others never noticed, Iruka would definitely notice if he were to sit on her.

Naruto's eyes widened as well, "Wait Iruka-sensei! Not that seat!" his panicked tone made Iruka freeze.

Harri struggled to get out of the chair, and if it was any other circumstance, she would probably find this hilarious. Unfortunately, she didn't find it funny at all.

"Why? There's nothing wrong with this seat." Iruka turned to look at the seat and Harri ducked as his arm went over where her head had been a second ago.

Harri carefully inched over the side of the seat. Then Iruka's foot made a connection with her shin.

"Oh crud."

Iruka started as his foot encountered a resistance that wasn't there, he looked down thoughtfully and was fully prepared to just dismiss it when he caught sight of Naruto's face, "Alright Naruto, what's going on?"

Naruto floundered for a moment before finally blurting out, "I have an invisible friend who's trapped to a lamp."

Iruka stared at Naruto, "What?"

"It's true! It's why I've been improving so much! Her name's Harri and she thought I was a really nice person so she came out of her lamp and she can grant me wishes! She's really nice."

"Then how come I can't see her?" Iruka demanded, "There's no such jutsu that can do a thing that you are suggesting, it's impossible!"

"No it's not! She's not from this world! Harri doesn't even use chakra!" Naruto tried to argue. But it was a fantastical idea. There was a reason not many people believed in Harri.

"Umino-san, I would request that you allow Harri to stand up. I can't imagine that the position she's in is comfortable." Teuchi put in mildly as he put another bowl down, presumably for Iruka.

Now Iruka turned to gape at the ramen chef. But at an impatient suggestive look from Teuchi made Iruka scramble away from the chair. Harri let out a sigh of relief as she straightened up. Then she moved to the other side of Naruto.

"Thanks Teuchi."

"No problem." he said easily, switching the bowls in front of Harri and where Iruka would sit.

Hesitantly, Iruka sat and picked up his chopsticks, "Explain. In better detail." Naruto only hesitated a moment before launching into the story. It wasn't very long, as he left out Harri's back story. That was her story and only hers to tell.

After he was done, Iruka took a big bite of his ramen, chewed it, swallowed, and then cleared his throat, "Let me get this straight. You have a friend who is stuck to a magic lamp. She came from a different world with magic, and can grant wishes if she wants. No one can see her because of the magic on the lamp. And she's been helping you to the best of her abilities, even though she's not a shinobi at all. And she's the reason you kept finding the cat today."

"I wasn't really lying when I said I could sense it! I could sense the genera area it was in, I just convinced Harri to help. Her spell led us right to the stupid cat every time." Naruto defended his, and Harri's, decisions today.

"Does the Hokage know?" Iruka asked after a moment.

Naruto's shoulders slumped, "I tried to tell him, but he couldn't see her."

"You know, he is the Hokage, perhaps he found out a different way and just hasn't done anything about it yet. Harri doesn't look very formidable after all." Teuchi put in.

Iruka took another bite. Harri was currently downing the broth in her bowl and she slammed it down appreciatively. Teuchi was just the best ramen chef ever. In any world she had ever visited, Teuchi won as a ramen chef hands down. They should give him an official reward for his work.

"The bowl is empty." Iruka noticed, pointing towards the now empty bowl. When no one answered him, turning to look at the bowl as they thought, he instead asked, "How do I see your friend?"

"Believe in the lamp." Harri muttered as Teuchi placed another bowl in front of her. Eating again was so nice.

"You have to believe in the lamp." Naruto told him. Iruka made a face at his head when Naruto looked down and Harri couldn't help but agree with him. Seriously, what counted as belief? Belief that the lamp was real? Belief in magic? The instructions she had gathered over the years were frustratingly vague sometimes.

There was a choking sound from Iruka's direction and Harri glanced over halfheartedly to see him staring at her, noodles hanging from his mouth.

"Yay! Iruka-sensei can see you too!" Naruto had obviously figured it out, and Teuchi even gave the man a comforting pat on the shoulder. Harri tilted her head at the sight. Seriously, how did the kid do it? No one had ever just managed to convince people she was real. Maybe it was a superpower or something.

"But...but...but!" Iruka sputtered.

"Surprise?" Harri offered weakly. Instead, Iruka just slammed his head down on the counter. Naruto and Harri both jumped at the hard sound and then stared a little concerned as Iruka hit his head a few more times before sitting up.

"Alright. I'll take it." he announced to the general confusion of the stands occupants, ""I assume that you have your own version of offensive and defensive techniques?" he questioned. "Since you have magic or whatever it is?"

"Of course." Harri said with a bit of pride.

"Good, then I trust Naruto's safety on his mission tomorrow to you. Can you take care of him?" he questioned seriously.

"Yes indeed. Although he can handle himself."

"Good. That's all I ask. Well, now that that's all cleared up, I'm going to go home and drink some sake until I pass out probably. I think I'll call in sick tomorrow." he announced before getting up and tossing some bills on the table to cover his food, "Be safe." he instructed Naruto firmly, then disappeared before anyone could convince him otherwise.

"Well, that went well." Harri finally said after a moments silence, "Come on Naruto. If we have a mission tomorrow, then you need to head to bed. Good night Teuchi, we'll see you soon. Naruto managed to convince the Hokage to let them do an escort mission."

Teuchi raised an eyebrow, but waved them off, "Alright, be careful."

"We will be, don't worry!" Naruto said proudly before he downed his last bowl of ramen, "Come on Harri!"

"I'm coming, don't worry!" she replied, then turned to Teuchi, "Thank you. We'll see you soon."

Then she too waved good-bye and left. Tomorrow was a big day.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

**A/N:: ** Hello everybody! Sorry for the long wait, but I had stuff to do in real life! Which mainly included packing for college. I actually finished this chapter while in a car. Unfortunately, it's a 22 hour drive. Bleck. At least I got lots of writing in hopefully! I'm actually updating somewhere in the middle of Missouri I think. I'm not sure, I wasn't the one driving.

I got a review from a guest who asked me to 'write longer chapters'. You guys, I love people who write long chapters (specifically Tsume Yuki, her stories are amazing). However, I am not as awesome as her. I'm amazed that this chapter was 12 pages long. For me, that's amazing. My chapters used to be stupidly short. I'm improving, but please don't bug for longer chapters. I'm working on it.

This is semi-important:: So I've gotten several reviews from readers who aren't happy. Specifically with Harri and her lack of doing anything magical. Let me put it this way. Harri doesn't care. At all. She has no need to go around showing off her magic at every able opportunity. Harri doesn't know anything about Naruto's world (besides what she learned in the history books she read) and ultimately doesn't care. She likes Naruto, yes. But she doesn't care about his world. She never read a Naruto manga or watched an anime episode. She's been trapped in the lamp for ages. For who knows how long. Her being the Master of Death doesn't really do anything because she's only the Master of Death from her home dimensions. She's also not a ninja. She's a witch who misses the fact that she can't apparate. She hates running. She can dodge, yeah, fire off spells, yeah. But she's not a ninja. She can't use chakra, doesn't know how it works. I will be addressing this during the Wave Arc. I'm trying to make this believable. Akatsuki hasn't appeared yet, Harri has no reason to go about traipsing in minds or use her magic. As of where they are right now, there is no point. None. She's not interested. Naruto is using his superpower of getting everyone to turn good on her basically. And to help everyone see her. Naruto's the only person she cares about in this dimension/world. So just keep an open mind while reading, please.

Shout out to Allykrau who was the 100th reviewer! Yeah! 100 plus reviews! So last chapter we were at 87 reviews, 628 followers, and 397 favorites. At posting, there is 103 reviews, 700 followers, and 450 favorites. Yeah!

Thank you everyone!

Moving on from reviews, (mainly because I was depressing myself) next we move into the Wave Arc. Seeing as this is the first spot where people get stuck, I'm determined to not be stuck. I've got a plan, and hopefully Wave doesn't take more than 4 chapters. Crossing fingers!


	10. Chapter 10

Harri strolled along next to Naruto, hands on her back. Briefly she wished for an outfit with pockets rather than the athletic shorts she was still wearing, but dismissed it quickly. She had gotten used to them by now. And it was comfy. At least she wasn't wearing something impractical like Sakura's dress, the thing was way too long for any practical movement. Especially since this was a ninja based world and not a fashion based world.

Naruto was mostly happy. Happy because they were finally going on a 'real mission.' The only down-side in his mind was the fact that the person they were escorting was Tazuna. Harri completely understood why Naruto was not happy with the guy, he got on her nerves a lot. He seemed to be drunk most of the time, and if Harri could easily smell his alcohol breath without any magic to enhance her sense of smell, surely then ninja who seemed to naturally smell better than normal people could smell him. It was a recipe for disaster in Harri's mind.

The day was nice at least; that sort of balanced out Tazuna's aggravating personality. The sky was a clear blue and it had been awhile since Harri had really taken the time to appreciate the beauty of the land. Voldemort had really taken the joy out of just sitting and enjoying nature, there were no opportunities to do it on the run. And then after the lamp, she hadn't really walked around to enjoy it. One place she had been dropped off at didn't even seem to have a sky, just mechanical doorways and hallways.

As they came up to a puddle, Harri grinned at the prospect of jumping in a puddle again. Who didn't like them? Then again, some people didn't like to get wet. But Harri hadn't had an opportunity in forever to jump in one.

Harri waited until the others had drawn ahead a little bit so she wouldn't splash any of them before jumping into the puddle with energy, slamming her feet down in pleasure at the sight of the water arcing up. As the water settled and she stepped away from the puddle; Harri could have sworn that she saw a face in the water. Disturbed now, Harri caught up to the others quickly with one last look thrown over her shoulder.

There was an odd sound behind her, as though it was coming from the water, and as Harri turned around to look, threw herself to the ground as she caught a glimpse of chains racing toward her. Instead, they wrapped around Kakashi and in front of their eyes, pulled him apart. Harri's eyes widened at the sight before turning her attention to the rest of the group. Naruto was standing a little apart from the others, and the two men landed behind him. All three of the kids froze, but Naruto seemed especially still as the two had landed behind him and were aiming at him next.

One of them spoke, "And now it's your turn." Harri felt anger course through her at the thought and hauled herself off the ground. They raised their arms that were connected to the chain, most likely to try and tear Naruto apart the same way they had with Kakashi. Harri wasn't about to let that happen though. Not again. Never again.

"Procident!" Harri hissed in Naruto's direction. She saw him out of the corner of her eye fall down as she turned her full attention to the two brothers. Their facial structures were too similar to not be brothers.

"Depulso!" the chain was sent flying to the tree just as a shuriken slammed into them, attaching them to the tree, followed by a kunai to make it stick even better. Harri turned to see Sasuke land on the brothers before kicking them both in the face. At least Sasuke had some skill.

The chain coming from their gloves snapped off, letting the two go so they could continue on unhindered. One of them went for Tazuna. The other went for Naruto.

Naruto was getting up as the brother came at him. When the blond caught sight of him, Naruto froze at the prospect of a person actively trying to kill him with killer intent. Sure, he had faced questionable citizens, but they hadn't been truly trying to kill him. At least, that's what Harri could read in his expression as she saw the claws on the brother's glove come bearing down on Naruto's raised hand. Before Harri could do anything, the claws pierced Naruto's hand, and Harri felt fury fill her as she witnessed it.

"Flipendo!" the customary loud bang accompanied it as the brother was thrown backwards, right into Kakashi's startled arm. Harri started at seeing him, and then narrowed her eyes at him as she walked over to Naruto. Grumbling under her breath, she grabbed Naruto's good arm and hauled him up. Harri took Naruto's bad hand in hers as she examined it. She raised a hand to begin a diagnostic spell, but before her trained eyes, she could almost see something leaving Naruto's wound, as though it was being burned out. Poison perhaps? Naruto had healed quickly after the beating, so Harri lowered her hand as she watched.

"Substitution?" Naruto mumbled, looking over where Kakashi had falsely died. Harri also glanced over to see the pile of logs that Kakashi had used to escape death.

"Naruto. Sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't think you'd get hurt. I just didn't think you would freeze up like that." Naruto's incredulous gaze snapped to Kakashi as his sensei spoke and Harri's grip on Naruto's hand tightened for a split second before she forced herself to relax.

Then Kakashi dug himself into a hole, "Good job Sasuke. Very smooth. Sakura, you did well also."

Naruto really froze now before pulling his hand out of Harri's grasp as he stared at his team.

"Hey." Sasuke angled his body toward Naruto as he addressed him, a smirk on his face, "You're not hurt are you? Scaredy-cat." Sasuke mocked. Harri glared at him and raised a hand, but Naruto jumped in front of her and raised a fist at Sasuke.

"Sasuke you…!" Naruto started, but Kakashi's commanding voice stopped him before he could get any further.

"Naruto. Stand still. These shinobi put poison on their claws. We need to take it out of you quickly, it's in your blood. We'll have to open the wound to get it out. So don't move around because that spreads the poison." Kakashi was so odd, one minute he seemed so condescending and the next genuinely concerned.

Naruto froze as he stared at his hand as it dripped blood, then he looked over at Harri with panic clear in his eyes.

Harri shrugged, "I don't think you'll need my help, you are healing pretty fast on your own. Maybe that fox-thing heals you quickly."

"Now Tazuna. Let's have a little chat." Kakashi said, hauling the two shinobi in his arms over to a tree and quickly and efficiently tied them to it, leaking a bit of killer intent so they wouldn't try to escape. It seemed that the two brothers hadn't quite thought their attack through. Or who they would be attacking. They put on an air of bravado that probably worked on the three kids and maybe Tazuna, but Harri could tell that she and Kakashi could see right through their blustering. But Harri's train of thought was more along the lines of why they would be scared of fighting Kakashi. He wasn't that amazing it seemed like to her. Plus, he had clearly just told Naruto off for moving around while there was poison in his body, and he wanted to interrogate the attackers now?

"These two are chunin from Kirigakure. Their specialty is relentless attack, they don't stop no matter the sacrifices involved." Kakashi explained.

"How did you know about our ambush?" one of them asked, "And who hit me on the head? That hurt! Was it a warning of some kind?" the brother's eyes showed his disgust at the thought, a shinobi showing mercy? Kakashi especially, showing mercy? The very notion was ridiculous.

"A puddle. On a clear day, when it hasn't rained in weeks? You could have picked a better way to hide. And no one hit you on the head before you came out of your idiotic hiding spot. Perhaps your brain cells were simply trying to tell you something." Kakashi said blandly to them.

Naruto looked over at Harri discreetly and the raven-haired girl simply shrugged her shoulders, "I didn't know people could hide in water like that. I just wanted to jump in the puddle."

Tazuna then spoke up, asking concernedly, "Then why'd you leave it for the genin to handle them?" In all honesty, it had been a nerve-wracking experience for him, he really had been close to being killed. Perhaps he should have thought this idea of his through a bit more.

"I could have taken them out quickly." Kakashi conceded, then continued, "But then I would have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was and what they were after." He turned to look at Tazuna who shifted slightly.

"Eh? What are you getting at?" Tazuna blustered.

"I needed to know if this was simply a case of them attacking us, shinobi attacking enemy shinobi, or if they were after you, the Master Bridge Builder. When you put in your request, you asked for simple protection against robbers and highway men. You didn't say there were ninja after you, hunting you down. Otherwise, this would have been a higher ranked mission. We were supposed to protect you while you finished your bridge, but if we had known that we would have had to been watching for enemy attacks at the same time, this mission would have been ranked differently. You apparently have reasons for lying to us, but lying to the mission desk is never acceptable. This mission is no longer C-ranked and is beyond the scope of our parameters." Kakashi finished, glaring at Tazuna as the portly man shifted around, playing with a bottle of his sake.

"We're genin. We don't have the training for this sort of thing yet. We should head back. And I'm really worried about Naruto's wound. Back at the village there are lots of competent medics who specialize in poison and they can deal with it." Sakura really did sound concerned about Naruto and Harri glanced at her appraisingly. There seemed to actually be some caring bones in her body, it just happened to be buried under a whole bunch of idiocy.

Kakashi turned to look over at his blond student, "Naruto's wound could become a problem. We probably should head back to the village."

Naruto looked down at his hand with a slight downward tilt to his mouth before suddenly whipping out a kunai and stabbing himself in the hand. Everyone seemed to freeze a moment as they stared at the kunai sticking out of Naruto's hand.

Harri's mouth dropped open and she took a single step toward the blond when he spoke, stilling everyone.

"Why am I so different? Why can't I just… Ugh! I just want… I will never give up!"

"Naruto, cut it out, what are you doing?" Sakura questioned a bit hysterically.

"I worked too hard! I trained too hard! Pushing myself! To reach my dream! I will never back down again, and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away, and I won't ever let Sasuke beat me like that again. Upon this wound, I make this pledge, believe it! Bridge Builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife! A real ninja never gives up and neither will I! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Now let's go!" Naruto pledged to the builder, a fierce expression on his face as he turned towards them more fully.

"Naruto, that was really cool how you took the poison out and all, but if you lose any more blood, you're going to die." Kakashi blandly stated.

There was a brief silence as everyone looked at Kakashi and Naruto. Harri slapped a hand to her face and shook her head at the ridiculousness of that statement.

Naruto's face drained of all expression and colour before suddenly, "Ahh, I'm too young to die!" Naruto yelled as he started freaking out, his bleeding hand staying suspiciously still as his other hand flailed around in his panic.

"Good idea to stop the bleeding now." Kakashi suggested, walking over to Naruto and reaching for his hand, "Give me your hand Naruto."

Naruto hurriedly stuck out his hand for Kakashi's examination and Kakashi took it surprisingly gently. Harri came closer as well and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the wound closing slowly. Earlier it seemed as though poison was leaving his wound, but now there was steam or smoke, or whatever it was slowly rising from the wound. Was that normal for him? Normal for ninja? Or did Naruto just have super-healing powers?

"You have a really serious look on your face, is everything okay? Am I going to be okay?" Naruto questioned panicked.

"Uh, yeah, you should be fine." Kakashi assured the panicking Naruto. When Naruto looked at Harri for reassurance, she rolled her eyes again and shook her head.

"You weren't going to die from that sort of wound." Harri told him, tone slightly exasperated at Kakashi's actions. Naruto relaxed slightly at that and observed Kakashi as he wrapped a bandage around Naruto's hand. At least he knew Kakashi cared.

"What are your thoughts, Sasuke, Sakura?" Kakashi stood up and turned to the other two once he finished bandaging Naruto's hand up.

Sakura looked nervously at Sasuke and his blank face before looking at Naruto and his determined face. She bit her lip, then spoke up, "I think we should continue. I mean, we handled those two pretty easily, and Naruto got the poison out."

Sasuke just grunted, and looked at the ground. However, he was casting short, longing glances in the direction of Tazuna's village.

Kakashi sighed, looked up at the sky for a moment before turning to Tazuna, "You're in luck. We'll continue the mission. Come on, time to head out." Then Kakashi started walking nonchalantly down the path without a backward glance.

Tazuna let out a sigh of relief before following after the jonin. Sakura and Sasuke followed soon, with Sakura throwing one last glance over her shoulder at the blond who was staring at his hand lost in thought.

Harri slung an arm over Naruto's shoulder, leaning on him, "Don't look so down, we're still going on the mission aren't we? At least we didn't get turned back." She gave him a sideways hug before letting go and strolling along casually after them.

Naruto brightened at that, but didn't say anything to her, mindful of the two brothers still tied to the tree. He gave said brothers one last glare before running to catch up with the others. Thank goodness Harri had made sure that he had made it through the encounter with only a small stab wound.

"Kakashi-sensei, what about them? Won't they be able to get loose quickly and come after us again?" Naruto questioned his sensei once he caught up to him, walking next to him.

Kakashi hummed then answered, "I don't think we will have to worry about them again. Just trust me on that Naruto."

Naruto looked down at the ground in confusion, but didn't argue. A miracle in and of itself. Naruto glanced over at Harri walking besides him. Harri winked at him and put her arms behind her head as she walked. In the silence, Harri started whistling. Naruto glanced over at her, an amused smile appearing and disappearing as quickly as it came. Too bad no one else could hear her whistling. She was actually pretty decent.

"It used to be pretty popular where I'm from. There was a really big country that was having issues and eventually, like a year after the song was released, the song actually became pretty popular. The big country that was having issues had fallen, so the song become fitting to its downfall. It was called 'Wind of Change.' Appropriate I always thought." Harri explained once she finished the song. "My aunt was surprisingly okay with my whistling, she used to test me on my whistling abilities. If I failed, I'd have even more chores and less dinner. But we could actually bond over it." A small smile graced her face as she thought back to the few times her aunt and her would actually get along.

Naruto looked pensive at the idea of someone sort of caring for you but also hating your existence. Was it like how Iruka used to hate him but tried to see past it?

"We're coming up to the sea. Do you have a way for us to cross?" Kakashi spoke up, his head tilted upward a little. He must have been smelling for it or something because Harri could see no sign of water ahead of them.

Tazuna nodded, "Yes. A friend has agreed to take across to the base of the bridge. Then I'll lead you to my home to rest until I can get started on the bridge." He explained.

Kakashi nodded his consent and then continued to lead in silence.

**{{LINE BREAK}}**

The water seemed to be unnaturally still as the boat cut through the water. Everyone seemed on edge, and Harri attributed it to the fog surrounding them. It could have just been that the younger kids had never been on water like this before, which was very possible seeing as how Naruto had been very excited to leave the village walls. Or they could sense that the water could become a perfect place for an ambush, Harri knew she was carefully watching the water. Especially after how those brothers had just emerged from a puddle.

Examining the bow of the boat, Harri was hit with a great idea. Being careful to not rock the boat, Harri went and stood at the bow of the small ship and then couldn't help but yell, throwing her hands up to the side in fists, "I'm the King of the world!" she could see Naruto look at her funny, but ignored it as she laughed and then sat back down. She grinned idiotically as she had never been able to do that back home. Naruto was practically itching to ask her, but in light of the fact that no one else here could see her, he would have to settle for waiting until later.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a gigantic thing emerged out of the fog and everyone looked at it in appreciation. No wonder Tazuna had 'Master' attached to his title.

"Wow, that thing is huge!" Naruto shouted as they passed by it.

"Quiet!" the guy who was rowing hissed, "Why do you think we are being all secretive, leaving the motor off and just rowing as well as going when there is dense fog? We don't want to be heard."

Naruto clapped his hands over his mouth as he glared at Harri who just let out a small laugh. It was all her fault.

Kakashi then turned to Tazuna, keeping his voice deliberately low as to not arouse the rower's ire, "Mr. Tazuna, before we land on shore, I need to know why those men are after you. If you choose to not answer, then we will head back to the village and leave you here. Why are the men after you?"

Tazuna then told them of the business man Gato and how he was actually a low-life who dealt with drugs and other contraband. Harri thought it resembled Lucius Malfoy quite well. Then Tazuna continued on after Kakashi had questioned him, spinning a tale about how his daughter and her son would be upset and how they would then curse the members of Konoha forever. Harri just rolled her eyes at his story. She had heard better stories before.

The shore couldn't come any faster. Naturally the three kids had been completely suckered by Tazuna's tale, even if Kakashi and Harri hadn't been. And man did Naruto have one persuasive mouth on him. Just a few short sentences from him and Kakashi was willing to continue on. Not without reservations of course, but still willing to go on. Harri thought detachedly that Naruto may even have been able to get some of the more reluctant Death Eaters a shot at redemption.

Once they had finally landed, the rower was quick to get them all of the boat with one last warning to both Tazuna and the shinobi before swiftly rowing away without a backwards glance. That wasn't very comforting. At all. Like he was condemning them to the Devil and was entirely okay with it. Apparently everyone here was really shaken up about this Gato guy.

Harri thought he sounded like a right and proper idiot. Honestly, who seriously described this evil, terrible man as a short midget with a long shadow? Maybe in another life Tazuna should have been a poet.

"Alright Mr. Tazuna. Let's head out. Standard formation you guys." Kakashi ordered eventually, making sure his students had everything properly packed out and distributed. It wouldn't do if they packed wrong and caused pain later with their backpacks.

For a long time, their walk was peaceful and unimpeded, if not tense. The genin had finally seemed to catch on that things were only going to get worse from here. Naruto especially was feeling on edge, Harri could tell. He was more fidgety than normal and kept looking around at the forest surrounding them. His fingers kept twitching towards his weapons pouch. Harri kept an eye out too, but was more content to keep one on Tazuna himself. If it did turn into a fight, the others would probably be too busy to really defend their client. Naruto and Sasuke at least would definitely join their sensei in fighting someone.

Sasuke caught up to Naruto and Harri could almost see the wheels in his head turning as he stared at Sasuke. Suddenly Naruto ran forward and looked around quickly before throwing a kunai in the bushes. Everyone stared at him as he ranted for a few moments before Kakashi told him off about randomly throwing kunai knives. Well, maybe Naruto really was tired if he was just randomly throwing out kunai knives.

What happened next was interesting, because Kakashi turned his head towards another bush nearby, and then Naruto threw another kunai with more confidence than last time. Someone, or something, was there. And surprisingly, Naruto had sensed it as well as Kakashi. Harri heard it hit the tree beyond the bush and walked over, avoiding the bush itself. An eyebrow rose as she stared at the terrified bunny. Well, at least it wasn't a person. However, it was white. Harri didn't know many of the animals around here, but a white rabbit in the middle of summer? Something wasn't adding up.

The bushes rustling behind her made Harri look up to see Kakashi simply staring at the rabbit with an unreadable expression on his face, a mix of something like exasperation, amusement, and dark thoughts.

"Naruto! Look what you did! The poor thing is terrified!" Sakura scolded when she saw the shaking form of the rabbit.

"Ah, a bunny! I didn't mean too!" Naruto panicked, rushing over to the rabbit. He picked it up and started apologizing profusely to it. It was an amusing sight, but there was something in the air, something that made Harri's battle instincts light up. She stood up, looking around seriously at the dense forest. It was a feeling she knew well from her year on the run.

Harri could tell Kakashi knew as well.

Someone was out there.

Someone was watching them.

A/N:: Hey everyone! As a birthday present from me to you (even though it's my birthday and not your guys') here's the chapter! I'm legal now, so scary!

So this is a shorter chapter than normal, but that seemed like a good stopping point, rather than bringing in Zabuza. I really did mean for Zabuza to be introduced, but that seemed like a good stopping point. I'm sorry to all those who wanted a super long chapter! If it makes you feel better, I really did do my best to go back and check everything to make sure it made sense and was correctly spelled!

Speaking of Zabuza, I've left a plot hole. Sorry! It's the dangers of not really planning ahead before you write! It's not shown in this chapter, but will be in the next, and I have to say that I'm sorry! Unfortunately, I won't go back and fix it right now because it will require delicate work to fix it and still make the chapter work with the rest of the story, sorry!

To the reviewer who has been leaving long reviews but not signed in and just as guest: It's hard to explain my reasoning to you when I can't contact you at all. But thanks for the long-ish reviews.

I apologize for the long wait, but college is amazing you guys, I love it here! And the work load hasn't been terrible yet. Though perhaps my classes are just lulling me into a false sense of security.

So, right now, there are 136 reviews (yay!), 517 favorite (yay!), and 783 followers (yay!). Thank you everyone! That makes me so happy! It's up from 103 reviews, 700 follows, and 450 favorites! That's so exciting!

Next is the battle with Zabuza, the full thing!


	11. Chapter 11

While on the run during what was supposed to be her sixth and seventh year, Harri gained almost a second-sense when it came to things attempting to hit her unawares. Spells were likely to start flying from anywhere at any time, and their little rag-tag group didn't have the means to watch everywhere around them. So Harri grew to sense almost immediately when a flying object came directed at her head.

Or well, not her head, necessarily, mainly because she was invisible to all who didn't believe in her. More likely it was directed at Tazuna or Kakashi. Still, it did come near her head, and Harri instantly tackled Naruto to the ground, her foot swinging out to take out Tazuna as well. The old guy fell onto his back with a loud groan, but he was alive at least.

Sakura and Sasuke also hit the ground, although after Kakashi's yell of warning. At least everyone had survived the first attempt. If the guy was willing to throw his fancy sword at their heads, there wasn't much doubt in Harri's mind that this was a person willing to do anything to get the job done.

The sword was nice though. Harri had wielded the sword of Gryffindor only twice, but had been able to tell that it was a magnificent sword. This new sword maybe wasn't as pretty as Gryffindor's, but it was definitely scary. And very efficient.

It could easily take off someone's head if they weren't paying attention.

There was a flash as the owner appeared standing on the sword. Harri's first impression was cow. That and he looked like he had just crawled out of bed. Plus, cow. Seriously. He looked like he had a vendetta against cattle and had taken their skins to become some odd looking leg and arm warmers. Perhaps Sakura didn't stand out so much if everyone dressed a bit odd. Cow.

Kakashi grunted as he shifted his upper body back up to look at the newcomer.

"Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, the missing-nin from Kirigakure." Kakashi introduced, standing up and going for casual as he put his hands in his pockets.

"If you're my opponent, then I'll need this." Kakashi stated when nobody moved after his announcement. Harri could tell that he had expected Naruto to rush forward, and Harri felt a flash of pride go through her at Naruto's restraint. Perhaps he really had retained some of her information.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan. Your reputation precedes you. If you hand over the old man now, I will spare you and your team from death." Zabuza offered, turning around fully, lounging on his sword as he stared at the group.

"I want you all to stay back, protect Tazuna. This will get ugly." Kakashi ordered.

Zabuza shrugged, "Just means I have the honour of killing the Copy Ninja." Kakashi didn't reply, but pulled up his hitae-ate, revealing a strange red eye. Harri's eyes narrowed at the sight. She was unpleasantly reminded of Voldemort. It was better to avoid that sort of thinking altogether though.

"What is that?" Naruto asked, his body language tense as he stared at the creepy eye. Harri came and put her hand on his shoulder.

When Naruto looked up at her, Harri spoke without taking her eyes off of Kakashi, "I'm sure that it's normal in some way. Otherwise why would he have been let to have a genin team? Don't freak out just yet."

Naruto nodded and then looked back at his teacher and his self-proclaimed opponent.

But surprisingly, the explanation came not from the two adults (did Harri count in this situation? She thought about that, then dismissed the thought quickly. It was too complicated at the moment) but from Sasuke.

"Sharingan. It is a dojutsu that resides in the eyes. It can instantly analyze an opponent's movements and counter-act it if the person has enough experience. Although there is more to it than that." Sasuke said, looking studiously at the ground and avoiding Kakashi's tense form in front of him. That was the sign of someone who had past experience with it. A bad one.

"There's a more to it than that, but the boy is right. The sharingan can follow along with any ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu and then copy it to its fullest ability. Only two people have it in the world right now. And one is standing in front of me."

Sasuke's head snapped up to stare at Kakashi as something became obvious to only him. Harri watched with wariness.

"I've wasted enough time on talking, if you won't just give the old man up, then you'll all die." On the last words, Zabuza moved, taking his sword with him. Harri was jealous of the shunshin, mainly because she missed apparition.

Zabuza appeared on the water, his sword now across his back as he made a hand sign. The mist around them started getting thicker, and the three genin automatically moved into a protective forward triangle around Tazuna. Harri stood off to the side, one eye on the group and the other looking for a stick that was similar to her old wand's length. She was proficient in wandless magic, but magic always worked better if it had a conduit.

The mist continued to become thicker, and Zabuza disappeared in it. Harri snapped a piece of wood off of a nearby tree before coming back over to the group. Naruto gave her a curious sideways glance, but said nothing, most of his concentration locked on the thick fog that covered the group. Harri raised the stick in response, but since she had never told Naruto the specifics of wands, the importance of the stick was lost on him.

"What is this Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, one hand slightly shaking on her kunai knife even as she tried to appear brave, "And who was that?

"A classic Kirigakure jutsu. It summons a thick mist for people to hide in. That was Zabuza Momochi. He's the ex-leader of Kirigakure's assassination unit. He's a master of the silent killing technique. As the name suggests, it happens in an instant, without sound or warning of any kind. It's so fast you pass from this life to the next without realizing what has happened. Even the sharingan can't fully counter it."

There was a shiver amongst the genin. And then Kakashi had to continue, "Of course, if we fail, we'll only lose our lives."

"Kakashi!" Sakura and Naruto admonished, both of their tones slightly panicky. Harri slapped her hand against her face at Kakashi's remark. Why did Naruto have to be stuck with the dramatic teacher?

"Eight points." The voice came out of nowhere, low and raspy. He was enjoying this, the bastard, "Larynx. Spine. Lungs. Liver. Jugular. Subclavian artery. Kidneys. Heart. Which should be my first point of attack?" Accompanying the words was a sudden burst of killing intent. Sakura became frozen, Naruto furrowed his brows as he felt something wash over him, but remained largely unaffected.

Harri could see Sasuke shaking from where she was standing and then grew alarmed as he slowly raised his kunai to point at his stomach. Hurriedly she stuck her make-shift wand behind her ear as she rushed over to Sasuke, hands stretched out to grab the knife. She would not allow anyone to commit suicide near her. Not again. And especially not someone as young as Sasuke.

As Harri's hands circled the kunai, Kakashi's voice stopped both of them, "Calm down Sasuke. I will never allow my comrades to die. Never." His voice was accompanied by a large wave of chakra, cancelling out Zabuza's.

Harri let out a sigh of relief as Sasuke turned his kunai away from him again, stepping away as she saw the panic in his eyes fade away to be replaced by determination and probably embarrassment.

"How cute. But you can't protect everyone." Zabuza's voice came out of nowhere, and then suddenly he was standing in between Tazuna and the genin.

Perhaps the only one not surprised by Zabuza's sudden reappearance was Kakashi, who simply charged at the swordsman. The genin scattered, but Tazuna remained frozen at the very real threat to his life right now. Harri lunged to the side to avoid being trampled by Kakashi, but quickly got up and made her way next to Naruto.

There was a tense silence as Kakashi and Tazuna remained locked in an impasse with each other. Then the silence was broken as something started dripping to the ground. Harri expected to see blood, but was confused at the sight of water. Who would bleed water? A mermaid?

When Zabuza dissolved into water, Harri raised an eyebrow at the sight. A clone? Wasn't it supposed to only be an illusion? Or was it similar like Naruto's shadow clones where they then poofed away in a big cloud. Perhaps since he was from Kiri though it meant it was made of water? Like how different regions spoke different words meaning the same thing? Except more violently. Harri eventually gave up trying to figure it out. Kakashi would no doubt explain it later. And if he ended up dead Harri would bring him back, regardless of rules about dimensions and Death!

On second thought that was a bit drastic.

The genin and Tazuna were all staring at the sight. None of them were used to seeing a guy dissolve into water. Course, neither was Harri so it wasn't like she had lots of room to talk.

Then another Zabuza showed up, was it the real one this time? And swiped clean through Kakashi with his sword.

Well, they were really screwed. Harri watched dispassionately as Zabuza followed through with his cut. Now everyone was really frozen. The idea that they were now on their own was absolutely terrifying to the genin. None of them were willing to run and leave Tazuna behind, but they also knew that if they stayed they would fail and die.

As Zabuza started to straighten up, a kunai knife appeared near his jugular vein. Alright, this was getting a bit ridiculous. Did anybody ever really die in this stupid world?!

"Times up Zabuza." Kakashi said seriously, kunai held to Zabuza's neck.

The silence this time was elated, although Harri had her doubts because in all honesty, with how many clones were being thrown around, it wouldn't surprise her if another one popped up.

It started out soft, a deep chuckle working its way up Zabuza's throat and everyone's elation quickly died and turned to dread at the sound. Sakura had been about to make a sound, probably to cheer, but her mouth snapped shut instead. Zabuza would have done well as an actor. His deep throaty laugh made him ideal for villainous roles. Harri grimaced at that thought though, she wasn't sure that movies even existed here, better to avoid that route of thinking all together.

"Impressive Kakashi. You truly deserve your title of Copy Ninja. When you made that speech to your genin, that one was a clone. You distracted me with it as the real you hid in the mist." Zabuza chuckled again before continuing, "However, even with the sharingan, your technique can't beat mine. No imitation is as good as the real thing."

"Just gut him already!" Harri yelled as she watched them. That was one of her biggest pet peeves when it came to battles, don't stand there talking, do something! Seriously, monologues were never a good thing!

Kakashi jerked, almost in line with her words, and the kunai dragged across Zabuza's neck. Harri wasn't even fazed to see the Zabuza in front of him turn to water. Kakashi whipped around, in time to block a swing of the sword from Zabuza. Zabuza then used the motion in order to plant his sword in the ground, using the handle to shift his body around into a kick that launched Kakashi into the air.

There was a distant splash and the genin all panicked. Splashes weren't always good, and the fog limited their visibility drastically. When you can't see something the situation instantly gets worse; knowing that you're being stalked is the worst feeling in the world.

"Sensei!" Sakura cried in alarm.

"Ventus!"Harri cried, whipping her arm around in a circle around her. Zabuza was not going to sneak up on their group on her watch. Gradually, the fog started following her arm motion before slowly dissipating into nothing.

Kakashi was just pulling himself out of the water, his hair dripping water into his eye. He looked extremely water-logged, and Harri had the amusing thought that he looked like a drowned cat.

As Kakashi was lifting himself up, Zabuza appeared behind him and started going through hand signs, Kakashi's eyes widened as he recognized the order that Zabuza was going through. Harri could read the slight panic in his eyes as Kakashi tried to pull himself out of the water faster. It didn't work though, and a bubble of water appeared around him as he attempted to launch himself away.

Harri groaned at the seemingly incompetence of Kakashi. If he was famous enough for this Zabuza character to recognize him on sight, then why was he crap at fighting Zabuza?

"Alright, let's go. Kakashi's gone. We need to get Tazuna to safety." Harri finally spoke up, putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder in an attempt to steer him away and get the others out of there.

"Now I don't have to worry about you and can take care of the Old Man." Zabuza said to Kakashi in the water prison. Kakashi was breathing somehow, but Harri couldn't tell if it was Kakashi who was using chakra to breath or if the prison itself allowed the prisoner to breath and just kept them trapped.

"I'll finish you off later. But first to deal with your little team. Water Clone Jutsu."

There was a tense and fearful silence as the little group watched as an exact image of Zabuza grew from the water.

"Legilimens." Harri said, pointing her faux-wand at the clone. She waited in tense silence as nothing happened, "Legilimens!" she hissed louder, jabbing at the clone. Nothing happened and Harri felt disquieted. Hoping that it was simply because she was trying at a clone, Harri left Naruto's side to stand in front of the real Zabuza on the shore, "Legilimens!"

Zabuza didn't even notice and started speaking, "You think wearing a hitae-ate makes you a shinobi. When you've faced life and death so many times that it doesn't faze you, then you may be called a shinobi." Harri kept trying, although an uncomfortable feeling started to spread through her as nothing happened, "When you've become so deadly that your profile has been entered into my bingo book, you may be called shinobi. But to call little upstarts like you shinobi, is a joke." On the final word, the clone disappeared.

A strangled cry made Harri whip around, "Crud." She said as she saw Naruto fly through the air. Figuring out why Legilimency hadn't worked would have to wait until a less nerve-wracking time.

Sasuke and Sakura both whipped around to watch Naruto land and Sakura let out a cry, "Naruto!"

The clone of Zabuza stood on a familiar piece of cloth and Naruto was getting up from the ground, not in too much pain from the kick.

"You're just brats. Pretending to be bigger than you could possibly be." Zabuza sneered from where he stood on Naruto's hitae-ate. Naruto looked up at Zabuza, fear and determination mixing together in his wide-eyed look.

"Take the bridge-builder and get out of here! This fight is too big for you. He's using all his power to keep me in here, so he has to rely on his water clone. But because it's made of water it can't go very far. So get Tazuna and run! He won't be able to follow you long!" Kakashi ordered, although desperation also mixed into his orders.

Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who made the first move. Towards Zabuza. Harri wanted to smack him for his stupidity, but instead concentrated on getting to Naruto instead. One of Sasuke's thrown kunai's made Harri hit the ground hard enough to make her bite her lip, but ignored the sharp taste of blood. The witch spared Sasuke only a sparing glance before concentrating on Naruto. She got up and took the last few steps towards her Summoner before kneeling next to him.

"Naruto? Come on, get up, we have to get out of here." She urged, a hand on his shoulder.

Naruto stayed still a moment, then started to stand up before freezing and grasping at his injured hand.

"Naruto? Naruto, come on. Let's go." Harri urged, tugging at his shoulder. She wasn't about to let him die, especially not on a mission that was supposed to be relatively easy.

Naruto shoved her hand off his shoulder as he stood up, and Harri watched with concern as he straightened before charging straight at Zabuza.

"No…" whispered Harri in disbelief as she watched Naruto charge at the missing-nin.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!" Kakashi echoed her disbelief from his prison. Harri stood up, raising her pseudo-wand in preparation for ripping Zabuza apart if he hurt Naruto, when Zabuza again kicked Naruto away, causing him to roll along the ground, knocking Harri off her feet.

Harri landed with a grunt on her back before pushing herself up, "You knucklehead! What was that for! You could have been killed!" she hissed at him.

Naruto lay still for a moment before he started to stand up and a flash of metal briefly blinded Harri. With a start she realized it was his hitae-ate.

A whispered, "Shut up Harri." As he stood up straight. Harri was taken aback. Naruto had never shown anger at anybody, not real anger at least. What had she said?

"Hey you, freak with no eyebrows." Zabuza twitched slightly as Harri muttered that he did have eyebrows, they were just small.

Naruto's face was shadowed as he spoke, "Put this in your precious bingo book. The shinobi who will become Hokage of Konoha." As he spoke, Naruto raised his hitae-ate back up to his forehead. As he finished tying it, Naruto looked up, "He never gives up. And he never backs down. My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

Zabuza started twitching and Harri caught a whisper of something from the missing-nin, but it was gone before she could really hear it.

"Sasuke, I have a plan." Naruto stated as he wiped a bit of blood leading from his mouth. Silently, Harri got up and backed away from the middle of the potential battlefield.

"Now you're thinking about teamwork?" Sasuke questioned with a smirk. But he didn't openly challenge Naruto either, so that was progress at least.

Kakashi spoke up, yelling at them, "What are you doing? I told you to get out of here! This fight was over the minute I got captured! Get going before you're all killed!" Naruto and Sasuke hesitated at this, and Harri opened her mouth to agree with Kakashi, but Naruto didn't even look at her as he turned behind him to question Tazuna.

"Bridge-builder?" Naruto questioned. Harri fumed silently as Naruto seemed to become like a stubborn bull in his attempt to get this fight. It was as though he wanted to die!

Tazuna bowed his head as he thought. The old man raised his head and said determinedly, "This is all my fault. My fault for wanting to live. So forget about me and save your sensei!" Harri slammed a palm against her forehead in exasperation as everyone fell to Naruto's pleas. This was out of their league!

Shaking her head and scowling, Harri lifted her pseudo-wand and pointed it at Zabuza, "Imperio!" the yellow-ish light raced towards Zabuza as the two boys conversed with Sakura keeping watch. Harri watched anxiously as the light seemed to dance around Zabuza's head for a moment before simply fading away into nothingness.

Scowling at the sight, because the victim's eyes were supposed to flash a yellow gleam to signify that the curse had taken hold, Harri tried again with more force and magic this time, "Imperio!" the yellow-ish light was bigger and brighter this time. It danced around Zabuza's head for longer, making him narrow his eyes and shake his head minutely as though trying to be rid of an irritating fly, but the light ultimately faded away into nothing.

That wasn't supposed to happen! No one could just resist the Imperius Curse without any tries, or without it even settling in! What was going on here?

Before Harri could try again, Zabuza started laughing un-expectantly. Was this because she had tried the Imperius curse on him?

"Still playing around, acting like you're shinobi." Zabuza raised his right arm, looking at it with an amused expression on his face, "When I was your age, I had already slaughtered many with this hand."

The genin looked slightly disturbed, but not too much considering all they had seen from the man.

Kakashi looked up at Zabuza, "Zabuza. The Demon."

"Oh, so I was in your bingo book too? You've heard the story?" Zabuza only sounded faintly amused as he looked down at Kakashi trapped in the water.

They all heard Kakashi groan, and then continue on, "In Kiri, a while ago, there used to be a very specific graduation test, required for all hopeful shinobi."

"You've heard of the graduation exam? That's impressive, I hadn't known it would become so famous. Go on, tell the story." Zabuza said, sounding faintly eager as he gave the go-ahead for Kakashi.

"Graduation exam? What's the big deal?" Naruto asked, and Zabuza started chuckling, Naruto continued, "We had to take graduation exams too!"

Zabuza just kept laughing before he asked, "Did you have to kill the people who you had trained with, eaten with, shared your dreams with? People you had known for years?"

There was a horrified silence among the genin as they realized what that had entailed. Sakura let out a quiet, "That's so cruel." Harri stood shocked at the idea that a village would do that to their own recruits. That process usually led to unrest eventually.

Kakashi sighed as he continued, "Nineteen years ago, the graduation exam changed. The year before, a dark evil had filled the school with terror. Without pause or hesitation, a kid who wasn't even a shinobi approached the class and took down over a hundred other students." Kakashi finished grimly. Harri could read the silent plea behind the story and added her own to it, hoping that Naruto would somehow receive it.

"It felt… so good." At the last word, the water clone, which had just been standing there, moved and rammed an elbow into Sasuke's stomach, sending him flying backwards. Sasuke landed on his back with a cry, and in a flash, Zabuza was there, driving his elbow again into Sasuke's stomach. The dark-haired boy cried out in pain as the clone started stepping on his stomach again and again. A hand started to reach up to his sword.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Naruto called out before he put his hands into a familiar sign, "Multi-shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto's signature jutsu fluttered into existence one-by-one.

"Oh, shadow clones? I suppose that's to be admired in a student so young." The real Zabuza spoke off-handedly. Sasuke took advantage of Naruto's provided distraction to slip away from the clone's foot. He struggled to pull himself up. Harri let out a small groan as the Naruto's started to converge on the clone without moving Sasuke first and so darted in and hauled Sasuke out. She ignored his quiet panic and used a clone to hide herself before shoving the dark-haired boy away.

Harri then returned to her position away from the dog pile, watching with interest as more Naruto's piled on.

There was silence, then a quite roar as Zabuza swung his sword in a large arc, dispelling most of the clones in one go. Naruto skidded backwards as he dug through his pack, he pulled something out before yelling at Sasuke, "Sasuke, catch!"

His hand snatched the thing out of the air before he twisted around, revealing a packed demon wind shuriken. Sasuke opened it and called out, "Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows."

Harri heard Sakura make a delighted noise, but watched Sasuke with interest instead. Something was going on here. She looked over at Naruto who just gave her a wink and a small smile.

Definitely odd.

Sasuke leaped into the air before throwing the shuriken. Harri watched and could see the curve in the path before it went around the clone and straight towards the real Zabuza. Harri raised an eyebrow at the genius of it, getting what had happened before Zabuza.

"Idiots. Shuriken can't touch me." He stated as he caught the shuriken out of the air. There was a dismayed noise from Tazuna, but Sakura seemed to get it also because she didn't make a sound either.

And…there it was, the second shuriken. It headed straight towards the real Zabuza, but he simply jumped over it like in the Olympics. Harri felt a brief stab of disappointment before she heard the tell-tale poof of a shadow clone and turned to see the Naruto that had thrown the shuriken to Sasuke disappear. Harri felt a smirk appear on her face as she turned back to see the second shuriken transform back into the real Naruto, a kunai held in his hand.

"Take this!" he shouted, throwing the kunai at Zabuza's head.

"What? No!" he snarled, staring at the kunai aimed at his head, the possibilities running through. At the last possible moment, Zabuza pulled his hand from the prison.

"You little brat!" Zabuza yelled, twisting around to face Naruto, the shuriken he held in his hands beginning to whirl around. Harri felt the panic well up inside her, there was no way Naruto could dodge that, not at the rate he was falling towards the water. The panic on Naruto's face conveyed his panic as well.

As Zabuza started to bring the shuriken around to throw, it was stopped suddenly with a loud clang. And Naruto fell safely into the water. Harri let out a sigh of relief at Kakashi's timing.

"Not my student you bastard." Kakashi uttered as Zabuza increased the pressure on the shuriken on Kakashi's hand. There was a brief struggle of power before Kakashi knocked it away and out of Zabuza's grasp. As it went flying away, Harri watched it to ensure it wouldn't come back to hit one of them.

Once she was sure that it was no longer a danger, she looked back at the two jonin standing across from each other.

Zabuza started going through hand signs, muttering the name under his breath, and after a moment, Kakashi started to follow after him. At the end, Zabuza inexplicitly stopped as he stared at Kakashi.

"…copying you?" Kakashi suddenly spoke, and Harri could see the psychological warfare that was happening from Kakashi's side. Zabuza was getting more and more spooked as Kakashi started following every move that the missing-nin made.

"Stop copying me!" he finally yelled, speeding through hand signs once again. Kakashi repeated him, and then finished before Zabuza, causing a vortex of water to collide with Zabuza, washing the shinobi away. It filled the lake even more with water before heading to land and colliding with several trees. Harri ducked as pieces of tree started to fly everywhere and then started to look for Naruto. She finally spotted him clinging onto a branch. As the water started to recede back into the lake, Harri rushed over to Naruto as he started to climb out of the water. She offered a hand to him, and Naruto took it, allowing Harri to haul him up faster. Perhaps all had been forgiven?

The two then turned to see Zabuza against a tree a bit away from the group, a kunai in each limb.

"How…? Do you see the future?" Zabuza croaked as he looked up at Kakashi on the branch above him. Zabuza's eyes were bloodshot, both from the force of the water and the panic he had, and was still having, concerning the sharingan.

"Yes." Kakashi said mildly after a moment, "This will be your last battle. Ever." As Kakashi readied a kunai to end Zabuza's life permanently, Harri was startled to see two small silver objects fly out of the air to land in Zabuza's neck, a bit of blood flying into the air.

Time seemed to slow down as their metaphorical giant started to fall down. Naruto especially seemed to be in disbelief at the idea that Zabuza was dead just like that.

"I must thank you. I have been tracking Zabuza for days." A soft sounding voice made everyone look even further into the trees. A figure stood there, wearing a sort of dress thing with a mask covering their entire face. Harri listened closely as the figure continued to speak, "I apologize for intruding on you, but thank you."

Naruto was shaking in anger next to Harri, and before she could stop him, had run over closer to the fallen Zabuza, "Who are you? And what did you do?" he yelled angrily.

"Naruto," Sakura hissed at him, "That's a hunter-nin. You missed the lesson from that day, as usual."

Kakashi ignored all of them and addressed the hunter-nin, "By your mask, I would say you are from Kiri."

"You are correct. I have been tracking Zabuza for a while now. But I must be going now. His body holds many secrets that cannot be allowed to see the light of day. By your leave." The hunter-nin bowed to them all before appearing next to Zabuza.

Naruto was about to blow up at the mysterious figure, but Harri placed a hand on his shoulder, when he paused, still shaking slightly, Harri said, "Hold your anger until the next fight. He doesn't deserve it."

Naruto took several deep breaths, but said nothing as the hunter gather Zabuza on his shoulder before shunshining away.

There was a relived silence as everyone took in the fact that it was over. Finally. Although it really hadn't been that long, Harri thought as she looked over their little group. No one had gotten hurt either besides some minor bruising.

"Come on, let's get going and get Tazuna to his bridge." Kakashi said tiredly as he stood up and surveyed his students. Naruto was barely holding back his anger, but at least he was holding back. Harri observed him proudly at that.

"Well, you all can stay at my house, no worries!" Tazuna spoke up with a slight laugh, reaching up to scratch at his head. Kakashi looked at him a moment before nodding his head slightly.

"Alright team, let's move out." But Kakashi had only taken a step or two before he faltered, and then collapsed to the ground.

"Kakashi-sensei!" everyone cried out in worry. Harri only let her head fall back as she looked at the clear sky, cursing their bad luck. Of course Kakashi had to fall unconscious. And she couldn't even use magic to just levitate him to Tazuna's house. Curses.

**A/N::** Well, that was a long time coming, I'm so sorry you guys! I meant to finish this like two weeks ago, but obviously it didn't happen. Curse you college life! But I really am sorry about taking so freaking long. But hey, the chapter is really long! Isn't that exciting? Hint, hint, wink, wink.

But anyways! Plot hole spotters, I'm sorry. I wasn't quite thinking in earlier chapters. But as of right now, I'm not going to go back and change it. Otherwise this will never get done. Sorry!

And for all those who start freaking out at Harri not being able to affect Zabuza, no worries, all will be explained. Just not right now, nor in reply to reviews, sorry!

I'm going to address this now: if you are reading this story to see Sakura-bashing, move on. I'm not going to bash her, frankly I don't like writing bashing. I think she does act immature, but at the same time, I've always thought she wasn't entirely aware of what a shinobi life entailed because she grew up in a civilians home. It is one thing to read it and another thing to actually experience it (like my attempts at parkour).

This story is so close to hitting a thousand followers! Eek, that's exciting! So the stats for the last chapter were 136 reviews, 517 favorite, and 783 followers. Right now they are at 153 reviews, 584 favorites, and 903 followers! All of you guys are amazing and thank you everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed! That's amazing! Speaking of a thousand, I suppose the person who is the thousandth person can get a prize of some sort. Internet cookies? A sneak peek? I dunno, I'll think about it.

If you spot any sort of mistakes, let me know. I'm working on incorporating more Japanese terms, but at the same time I'm guessing, so polite corrections are appreciated!

Next chapter will hopefully be the end of Wave, but I'm not entirely sure yet. Pray it doesn't take me so long next time.

**A/N2::** The changes come soon, probably the next chapter. Just be a bit patient please.


	12. Chapter 12: The Unfortunate Filler

Harri and Naruto stood facing each other in the middle of the woods, Harri in a battle-ready position. The witch had asked for the blond's help in trying to figure out why her magic hadn't worked during the battle against Zabuza. It had been a nagging thought ever since the battle had ended. Kakashi was still unconscious, although he was resting in Tazuna's house under the watchful eye of his daughter.

"It won't hurt right?" Naruto asked, looking worriedly at her. After all, he had agreed to let Harri attempt magic on him, but she wasn't telling him what kind of magic.

"It shouldn't." she muttered as she cast a critical eye over both Naruto and the pseudo wand she had picked up somewhere. In all honesty Harri had forgotten where she had even picked up the stick. It was just a random one and a terrible conduit. Her nose wrinkled as she wished for either of her wands back in England. Death had tried to bring them to her in one of her earliest places she had landed, but something with the lamp interfered with her ability to use the wands. As soon as Harri had tried to cast a spell, the wand had disappeared. Eventually it hadn't even been worth trying. Didn't mean she still didn't miss having a proper conduit for her magic.

Grimly, she pointed the stick at Naruto, seeing the kid flinch automatically. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Harri incanted, "Imperio."

The yellow-green traveled across the clearing and Naruto tensed up at the light circling his head. But just like with Zabuza, the spell simply disappeared into nothingness. Frown evident on Harri's face, she repeated the spell, just as she had done with Zabuza. Again it simply disappeared into nothing, not even affecting Naruto in the slightest.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Even muggles are affected. So why doesn't it work on you, that makes no sense." Harri murmured, tilting her head as she thought.

"What are you trying to do?' Naruto ventured to ask.

Instead of answering, Harri tried Legilimens. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. This didn't make any sense. Legilimency always worked, no one could naturally block out a Legilimency attack.

Grumbling to herself, Harri started pacing, flipping the stick in her hand over and over. Naruto just stood there and watched her as she muttered and paced. He may not have understood what was going on, but he knew it was something big. Big to her at least.

"Harri, what's going on?" he finally asked.

"My magic isn't working." She muttered distractedly, as a thought occurred to her, she whipped around and sent a low-powered reducto towards a nearby tree. The blue light thankfully did cause a hole in the trunk, and Harri let out a breath of relief. At least it wasn't all of her magic that wasn't working.

"That did." Naruto pointed out unhelpfully, "But you meant that spell that you did earlier. The one you attempted on me."

"It just doesn't make sense!" Harri burst out, throwing her hands in the air to help portray her frustration, "My magic worked fine with Tohru! With Cassie's tumor! With finding Luke! With Kendra and Seth and curing Warren! But when it's a life or death situation, right in front of me no less, the Imperius Curse fails me! It has never done that! It's why Hermione, Ron, and I were able to even get into Gringott's!"

"Harri. What failed?" Naruto asked calmly as Harri ranted. His calm tone helped Harri to take a deep breath and to let it out raggedly.

With a final groan of frustration, Harri collapsed on the ground, looking towards the sky in aggravation. She patted the ground next to her, and after only a moment's hesitation, Naruto came next to her and laid down as well, looking towards the sky with apprehension.

There was a moment of silence as Harri gathered her thoughts.

"During the fight, why did you get upset with me?" she finally asked.

Another silence, but Naruto finally answered, "You were asking me to give up. And you were the one who had been pushing for so long for me not to fail, but when a battle was actually happening, you were the one asking me to give up. To run away. How could you?"

Well then. That was a pretty good reason.

"With magic, there is a wide variety of the spells that are available. Many things that can be solved the mundane way are used with magic to speed the process up. Most people categorize magic in two areas: light or dark. I believe that magic is more gray than anything else, it just depends on how you use it. In England, there are three Unforgivables, spells that will land you in the wizarding prison in a flash. No excuses."

When Harri hesitated in continuing, Naruto quietly asked, "One of the spells you are trying to use is one of those isn't it?"

"Yup. The war changed all of us. And the Imperius Curse was highly effective in staying alive. It's meant to give absolute control to the caster. I could tell someone under Imperio to murder their child and then commit suicide and they would do it all while experiencing pure bliss." Harry said it matter-of-factly, leaving Naruto reeling slightly over the fact that she just casually threw that spell around.

"And it didn't work on me or Zabuza." Naruto slowly said, picking at some grass next to him.

"Yup. It's frustrating is all. It just doesn't make any sense." Harri said. There was silence again, and then Harri turned over onto her side, her arm propping up her head, "In the war, I operated under hit 'em fast, give 'em hell, and get out of there as fast as possible. And if the person we were fighting clearly outmatched us, then we ran like Morgana herself was chasing us. It didn't matter if we lost one battle so long as we won the war. And we did, that's the thing. We won against the biggest tyrant England had ever had to deal with by themselves. None of the other countries would help, we made the issue, and we fixed it. We lost people while doing it, but we won. To me, it made no sense to stay and attempt a fight against someone who clearly outmatched us. I didn't want to see kids killed because they were too stubborn to leave. Not again." She finished softly, trying to convey just through her words her reasoning, why it mattered so much to her.

Naruto looked over at her before looking up at the sky again, "That sort of makes sense. I guess. But wasn't it their choice?"

Harri fell back onto her back again as she let out a breath of displeasure, "At the final battle, only those of age could join the fight. Colin Creevey stayed behind protecting the escape route for those who needed to leave for whatever reason. He and Cho Chang ended up dying instead. Colin had such a bright future ahead of him, was going to revolutionize the Wizarding World, I really believe that. But instead of listening, he stayed and ended up dead."

"But it was his choice. He died defending the only escape route. How can he be any less worthy of your respect? He probably saved the lives of a lot of people right? He and the other person you mentioned. They saved people. And it was their choice to die. It was their choice to help others live their lives in exchange for their own. There isn't anything higher than that I think." Naruto pointed out.

There was silence in the clearing and then Harri let out a small laugh, "Kid, you have a way with words. I've been telling myself that for however long I've been stuck to that lamp, and with a few words you make the wounds all better. Maybe you should classify that as a dangerous jutsu."

And just like that, the mood was lifted and Naruto snorted in response to her words, "I'm just saying common sense." He sat up and dumped the compilation of grass he had managed to gather onto Harri.

Harri yelped as the grass covered her and she shot up, brushing the grass off of her as she glared jokingly over at the laughing form of Naruto.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'll just dump you in river water when payback time comes." Harri grumbled good-naturedly as a slight smile appeared on her face, "Now since we've established that some magic works and some doesn't, with no idea why, why don't you go check on your sensei? I'm sure that by now he should be awake. If chakra exhaustion is similar to magical exhaustion, after about a day's rest should be enough."

Naruto's laughter died down as he regarded Harri curiously, "Really? Kakashi-sensei might be awake by now?"

Harri shrugged in response, "Honestly I have no idea. I'm not an expert in chakra. But I'm decent at magic, especially when it comes to draining too much too fast. So I figure that Kakashi should be awake soon."

Naruto jumped up into the air, pumping a fist as he did so, "Awesome! I'm going to go check right now! Do you want to come or are you going to stay out here?"

Harri thought for a moment, she could Summon Death, see if he had any ideas as to why her spells weren't working like normal. But she hated to bother him too much, especially since the crossing into this world seemed to be more difficult than other worlds. Ultimately Harri discarded that option, at least for now. She could Summon Death some other time.

"I'll come. Not much to do out here anyways." Harri said, hauling herself up as she brushed the last of the grass off. As Naruto turned away to happily lead the way back to Tazuna's house, Harri eyed Naruto's bright blond hair. Sometimes he could be a bit obtuse about things, and Harri was pretty certain that he wouldn't notice grass in his hair. But ultimately she just dropped the grass back on the ground.

Tsunami must have been one of the most level-headed people Harri had ever met. She was clearly a civilian, yet shinobi were just people to her. And even though she had berated her father over his less than legal way of how he manage to get the shinobi to their house, she welcomed them all in with open arms. It was refreshing for the genin to be treated like normal kids instead of trained killers.

Now if Inari could be dealt with, then Harri would enjoy the stay a lot more.

The kid drove her nuts. The genin hadn't really seen it yet, being more worried over the unconscious Kakashi, but Harri saw the looks that were shot at them and just barely resisted the urge to strangle the little brat.

Unfortunately that would be frowned upon, so Harri didn't.

Even though she really wanted to.

She passed by the aforementioned little brat with only a tongue sticking out at him, and then continued on upstairs to where Kakashi was resting. The three genin had decided to have a meeting of sorts about what to do, and Harri had taken the opportunity of distraction caused by the three to sneak some food from the meal Tsunami had made. The longer she was out of the lamp, the more mortal things became necessary and Harri had to remind herself to eat more often.

It was odd to her to actually be out long enough to really start feeling hunger again, but Harri took it as a good sign.

As she finished off the bit she had stolen from Tsunami, Harri came to a stop outside the room where Kakashi had been placed while he was unconscious, listening at the door.

There were some faint voices from inside the room, and Harri's hand hesitated briefly over the surface before she laid it flat on the doorway, "_Audire_." She whispered under her breath, feeling a slight warming under her hand before the voices inside the room became clearer and more distinguishable.

"How are you feeling now sensei? And don't pretend that you're completely fine like you did with Tsunami." Sakura said, her voice faintly bordering on nagging and worry.

Kakashi made a small noise, but Naruto drowned out any response he might have had, "Yeah sensei, what's going on?"

"Let him speak Naruto." Sasuke's irritated voice said next, also drowning out Kakashi's response. His comment started a small round of bickering, but Kakashi's voice quickly stopped them from escalating from just words to fists.

"Enough you two. Sakura, it really will be about a week before I'm able to move normally. In the meantime, what have you been doing while I've been out?"

"Not much. We didn't know what to do. It's only been two days since you've collapsed." Sakura said in a calm voice, a bit strange for her, but Kakashi had just woken up after being unconscious. That was a pretty good reason for anyone to be more calm than normal.

There was a sigh from Kakashi, "Alright, before we continue on, I have to ask what happened with Zabuza's body. Did the Hunter-nin take care of Zabuza's body there?"

"What do you mean? You were there sensei, the hunter killed Zabuza and then left." Sakura said, wood floor creaking as she probably shifted.

Kakashi let out a small groan, more like an exhalation that just read of unwanted realization before he spoke, "Zabuza's body wasn't worked on right there? I thought it had been. That's just great."

Instantly a cold chill made its way up Harri's spine, the only sign beyond a slight clenching of her hand on the door that something went wrong with the process. Something that was about to screw them over in some way.

"What's wrong sensei? Is there something wrong with the hunter-nin?" Sakura asked, probably the only one of the genin who paid enough attention at the Academy to have any knowledge about the Hunter organization.

"Think, Hunter-nin's are meant to work on the body right there, to prevent anyone from potentially learning village secrets. Medicines, techniques, all are important things that no village wants anyone else to learn. These trade secrets are oftentimes what keep a village separate from each other and able to keep their strength. While his weapons aren't uncommon for assassinations, they are used. However at the same time, senbon are rarely used on outdoor assassinations. Senbon are used when the assassination is meant to be as unnoticed as possible. Most commonly they are used with medicine." Kakashi explained to the patiently listening students.

"But Zabuza's body wasn't worked on right there, the Hunter took the body with him. Does that mean that the Hunter was fake and not a real one? He was just working with Zabuza?" Naruto asked slowly before gaining a bit of a hysterical note to his voice by the end. It wasn't that surprising after all though-it was only thanks to Kakashi that they even survived, and he had ended up unconscious.

Harri stood rigid at the thought, her eyes closing as she clenched her teeth hard. If she wasn't tethered to the lamp and unable to carry it herself, Harri probably would have taken the lamp and gone after Zabuza herself.

"Naruto, do you remember what I said earlier? I will never allow any of the people on my team to die. Not under my supervision." Kakashi's voice was uncharacteristically sharp as he comforted Naruto in his odd way. Harri was sure that she was the only one who could clearly hear the '_not again'_ that remained unspoken.

Perhaps the kids sensed it though, because there were no further discussions down that route. Instead, Sakura spoke up and asked, "Then what will we do sensei?"

"I don't suppose you guys would be up for just leaving? After all, this is far outside mission parameters. It would be perfectly acceptable for us to head back to Konoha once I'm able to walk normally." Kakashi asked, although his voice remained mild and it didn't really sound as though he would want to take that option.

"What? Sensei, we can't just leave them here!" Naruto shouted, and Harri heard a thump inside the room. She could just picture Naruto standing tall glaring at his sensei with a determined look in his eye, "We said we would help Tazuna! We can't just go back on our word to them!"

While Sakura and Sasuke made no noise to agree with him, they didn't make any counterarguments either, and Hari took it as a good sign and that the two were on the same page as Naruto. The group did have potential.

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to get ready for Zabuza's imminent return." There was the slightly irritating cheerfulness to Kakashi's voice, so Harri figured he was doing his odd little eye-smile thing. At least the small portion of Kakashi's voice was expressive when he choose to. Otherwise it would be a lot harder to tell what Kakashi was thinking.

"Since I've only been out two days, rather than the three I expected, we have a little bit extra time. Just a day mind you, but we can still make the most out of this. Since we have only been a team for a little while, you aren't as far into your training as I would like, especially for something like this." There was a grunt and then two kids' panicky responses and Harri grinned at the sound effects. Trust Kakashi to haul himself up like he hadn't just been out for two days and for two of his team to completely freak out.

"Just make sure I don't fall on my face." Kakashi admonished gently, his voice keeping that weird nonchalant vibe.

"Okay sensei!" Sakura and Naruto said excitedly, Sasuke just making a low sound, more of an exhalation of breath than anything really.

Harri cut off her magic, ending the spell and stepped away from the door. She really didn't want to get hit with the door again. It had happened several times before and Harri was in no mood to get a potential broken nose.

The door swung open and Naruto came out first, bouncing around more than usual, probably due to the promise of more training. Sakura came next, looking back worryingly at Kakashi, who came out next. While he wasn't the picture of perfect health, he mostly walked normally, albeit with support from the wall. A crutch would probably be the best thing to help Kakashi get his strength back. Sasuke came out last, looking decidedly less angst-y, again, probably with the promise of more training.

"Naruto, go find me something that I can use as a crutch. It will help me get places faster." Kakashi ordered his blond student. Said blond rushed off down the stairs to find one, sparing Harri a smile when he caught sight of her just past the open door.

Sakura rushed back to Kakashi, "Why do you need a crutch? Should you still be laying down sensei? Are you sure that you're okay?"

Kakashi looked down at the worried pinkette with amusement, "I promise Sakura, I'm fine. My balance is a bit off, but a crutch will help stabilize me. I'm fine, don't worry."

Almost reluctantly, Sakura started off again, looking back at Kakashi every few steps, as though he might suddenly fall on his face without warning. Perhaps that was the reason that Sasuke was still behind Kakashi; there was a heart in that angst-y, revenge-filled soul of his. While he didn't say anything, he watched his sensei like a hawk, his eyes constantly making sure that Kakashi wasn't about to fall on his face.

Outside, the weather was still pleasant, something Harri took as a good sign. Hopefully whatever Kakashi had planned for the group would be something helpful against the impending fight against Zabuza and his masked cohort.

He led them, on a crutch Tsunami found in a random closet, to a clearing out of sight of the house, hopefully safe from anybody who could witness the teaching session. Harri privately had the idea that shinobi were like the wizarding world, except a lot more accepted. But that didn't mean that everyone enjoyed it.

Course, Harri could just be over thinking it and Kakashi more just wanted away from the overly nice Tsunami, the still drunk Tazuna, and the supremely irritating brat-of-a-kid Inari.

Merlin only knew how much Harri wanted to avoid them. Friendly people wasn't exactly something she had gotten used to, especially with the years spent in the lamp. Granted, Tsunami couldn't see her, or interact with her personally, but she could feel the friendliness oozing off the woman.

Regardless of the reasoning, Harri still followed the small group as they circled around Kakashi, who was looking at them with a distinctly unsettling expression. Even with only one eye showing.

"So what are we doing Sensei? What cool jutsu are you going to teach us?" Naruto asked eagerly, slightly bouncing up and down as his mind raced. Harri could just imagine what he thought was cool- no doubt something that was completely impractical for him to learn at his age and where he was at his current level of training.

Even though Harri was expecting Kakashi to introduce something small and casual that the kids could work on, something easily mastered for the inevitable battle against Zabuza but still something that could keep them alive, keep them ahead just the slightest bit to stay alive, she was not expecting Kakashi's response.

"We're going to climb trees?" Sakura was the only one willing to express what they were all thinking. Naruto had stopped bouncing and was looking distinctly put out and Sasuke's stink-eye had returned with a vengeance. Even Sakura was looking at Kakashi with a less than pleasant face.

Kakashi put up his hands in a small sign of surrender, giving a little chuckle, the sound instantly putting everyone on edge. He had something planned. Something they were not going to enjoy.

"Yes, climb trees. But you're going to do it without using your hands." As he spoke, he walked over to a tree near him, and then started climbing up it.

As though it was solid ground.

Well.

That wasn't something that Harri had expected Kakashi to teach the three kids.

"This requires chakra control. Very specific chakra control. It's something that is usually put off a bit longer in order to get all three students around the same level in skill. However, most genin teams also don't take C-ranked missions this early. We're probably one of the earliest teams to take on a C-ranked mission." Kakashi paused as he reached a branch a decent distant of the ground, going out onto the limb and hanging there, still managing to look casual as he hung upside down looking at his students.

"There are different areas of chakra, something that we will go over in depth another day. But for now it will probably suffice to say that up until now you've just overloaded all areas with chakra, unconsciously hoping something will come out in the right areas. It works, but now you have to move beyond that. With having fine chakra control, you will be able to regulate the chakra you put out. It will help you to not get exhausted as fast." Kakashi continued explaining, not changing his tone at all. He then took out three kunai and threw them down at his student's feet.

"You'll be using those kunai. After focusing the chakra to your feet, start up the tree. Once you reach your limit, mark it with a kunai. The goal is that you get higher and higher consistently." Kakashi explained as he started back down the tree after throwing down three kunai to his students.

"I wish you luck in all your endeavors Naruto. You're going to need it." Harri muttered to Naruto, who looked flabbergasted at his sensei's actions.

"That's really cool! I can't wait sensei!" Naruto yelled in excitement. At least one of then was excited at the prospect of using this chakra that way. Sasuke and Sakura seemed more reserved about it. Perhaps they were more used to seeing stuff like that. Although it now made more sense as to how their pursuers from Naruto's pranking days were able to seemingly appear out of nowhere. Naruto was wickedly fast it seemed like sometimes, they needed all the help they could muster for themselves. But then again it also brought up the question as to how no one besides Iruka was able to catch Naruto. A prankster thing then?

Harri was brought out of her thoughts by a crash and looking at the source of the crash, was torn between laughing or shaking her head in exasperation. Naruto certainly tested her patience if nothing else. He looked comical in his position, slightly twitching.

In the end she did a bit of both, a snort escaping her as she shook her head. Honestly it was a bit of a miracle that Naruto hadn't gotten any brain damage yet. At least no one else had as much enthusiasm as the blond.

Harri shivered suddenly as a sense of unease filled her soul. That was never a good sign. She really wanted to do a cleansing ritual all of a sudden. That was really not good.

There was a giggle, breaking Harri from her train of thought and feelings of dread. Surprised, she looked for the source of the giggle, finding Sakura sitting on one of the topmost branches feet swinging back and forth as she stared down at the rest of them.

"Huh. Would you look at that." Harri muttered mostly to herself as she stared at the pinkette. It was the first anyone had ever seen Sakura excel at anything relating to becoming a shinobi. A strange thrill went through Harri as she watched the 12 year old swing her feet back and forth child-like as she grinned down at the two boys.

"Well, it looks like the only female of the group has the best chakra control." Kakashi said unnecessarily as he stared with faint surprise at his female student. It seemed that Harri wasn't the only one who could see the potential that Sakura showed all of a sudden. It was hidden yes, buried underneath all the gunk of the personality she showed. But there was a possibility.

"Well done Sakura." Kakashi praised the girl.

A very slim one, but a possibility nonetheless.

"What? No fair! Sakura!" Naruto yelled when he realized that she had already reached the top of her chosen tree. Almost immediately, Naruto tried running up the tree, taking about seven steps before crashing to the ground again.

Harri's hand came up and rubbed the side of her face as she tried her hardest to not react to Naruto's stubbornness and the subsequent consequences that came from his stubbornness.

"Alright Sakura, since you managed to get that down easily, your next step is to run up and down the tree without stopping until you feel like you're going to collapse. This will allow you to push yourself to the limits and discover what they are." Kakashi instructed the pinkette.

"Alright sensei." Sakura agreed with only a slight amount of resentment in her tone. She obviously wasn't happy about the order, but she wasn't someone to ignore a direct order. No matter how much she wanted to look perfect for Sasuke.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, the animosity between them practically creating a literal spark. Without a word to each other, or to anyone else, they took off towards the tree again.

And again. And again.

This wasn't smart in any way. Just stupidity and an overload of testosterone.

Great. They weren't going to learn anything. Well, that wasn't true. They would learn it, and they might benefit from the challenge of each other, many people were like that, but Harri could almost see the animosity and how much it took a toll on the boys. In their individual way of course.

For a long time it was just the steady sound of thuds to the background noise of Sakura's steady feet, and Harri allowed herself a fleeting moment to think this might actually work.

Later, Harri would reflect on how she really needed to stop making assurances to herself, because as soon as she did, something would happen to come back and bite in her the butt.

This coming in the form of Sakura's chakra apparently running out. While the pinkette was in the middle of going up and down the tree, facing towards the sky.

Kakashi was too far away in his current state to do anything, and both of the boys were in the middle of falling themselves.

Sakura was falling, the other's turning as her panicked scream ripped through the air, but Harri whipped out her faux-wand and yelled, "Aresto Momentum."

Sakura's scream slowly petered out to strangled gasps as she felt herself slow down for no reason before hitting the ground hard enough to knock the air out of her lungs.

"Sakura? Are you alright?" there was a small amount of worry in Kakashi's voice as he leaped to the ground, and while the kids may have only seen the worry, Harri could see the absolute panic that lined his entire body. He really did care about his students.

Sakura stayed quiet, staring with wide eyes beyond Kakashi's shoulder as Sasuke and Naruto came over. Naruto ran to her side, worry etched over his face. And while Sasuke said nothing and calmly walked over, staying a good amount of distance away, there was some concern on his face.

"Sakura? Sakura are you alright?" Naruto asked, hovering over Kakashi and Sakura, crowding them in his worry.

"What. Is. That?" Sakura asked haltingly, and Harri realized with a start that Sakura wasn't staring over Kakashi's shoulder at nothing.

But that she was staring more to the side where Harri stood.

As in, the pinkette was looking at Harri and seeing her.

Bugger.

A/N:: Well. This is awkward.

*waves awkwardly at everyone*

Hi?

I really did not mean for this to take this long. Nor for this to turn out into a bleeping filler chapter (I hate them slightly). I had a very clear ending for this chapter and it was going to be awesome I though. I even had a pretty cool title for it. But it wasn't going to happen. And realistically, if I had waited for that ending, it would have been even longer for this chapter to come out.

I try not to come up with excuses. But writers block? And going back home from college? Regardless, I'm really sorry this is so freaking late. And it's kind of pathetic.

But it's progress. And some progress is better than none.

And this chapter is done! Finally!

But I think I'm coming to really hate the Wave Arc. It was meant to reach the battle in this chapter and next one would be the concluding and then we could move on. But it's turning out longer than I thought it would be. Sorry!

Especially since the Wave Arc seems to be a common dying place, blegh…..

But hey, I hit more than a thousand followers following the last chapter, so that was something really exciting not gonna lie. No prizes were given, but hey, that was probably a good thing!

Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! You guys are awesome! And thanks to everyone who followed/favourited this story, it makes me feel a lot better!


	13. Chapter 13: The Battle

_Freak_

Hari hated that word with a passion. It rivaled her hatred for Voldy, for Umbridge, she hated the word. It brought back unpleasant memories of the Dursley's and Hari had never quite gotten over it, even years later.

Part of her accepted the term. After all, she was from another dimension, a witch, and Master of Death (but only for her dimension) wrapped into one.

Part of her wanted to scream at Sakura at how the pinkette was the one walking up things like gravity didn't even exist and that to her, that was freakish.

But when Naruto had explained and Sakura's reply was to scoff derisively and mutter that word, Hari felt herself go numb.

Fine. Then she was a freak even here.

"Naruto. Leave her be. It's fine." She heard herself say.

"No, it is not fine! She can't call you a freak! That's rude and totally not right! You aren't a freak Harri!" Naruto protested with fury written in every line of his body. His fists were clenched as he stared at the ground, and Harri could tell that he was going to cut his palms with how hard he was clenching them.

Almost unconsciously, Harri felt herself soften and she knelt down by him, "Naruto, it's okay, I know what I am. I'm not from your world, I am a freak."

She tried to pull his hands apart so he wouldn't hurt himself, but Naruto simply took a measured step back.

Then he looked up at her, face firm in his conviction, "If I'm not a monster, than you can't be a freak." He replied softly but surely, "You will never be a freak to me." Then he turned on his heel and sprinted into the forest, dropping her lamp on the ground as he went.

"What is going on?" Kakashi asked as he finally spoke up.

"She's a freak, that's what's going on. And Naruto is one as well I guess." Sakura said disgustedly, beginning to back away.

"Sakura. Enough. You aren't being professional. Go back to Tazuna's house right now." Kakashi snapped at the girl. With a last scoff, Sakura turned and stalked off, her hands in fists as she muttered under her breath.

For a moment, all Kakashi did was stare after her with an unreadable expression. Then he turned to Sasuke and ordered him back too.

Sasuke hesitated, looking around for a sign of Harri, but eventually seeing no one, slowly started walking back to the house.

Once Sasuke was out of sight, Kakashi let out a sigh before walking over to where Naruto had dropped Harri's lamp. Harri followed along silently, waiting to see how he would react.

"You know, I can't see you. But I'm pretty sure you're here. The Hokage mentioned it briefly to me, but didn't say much. He said you were invisible to most." Kakashi paused by the discarded lamp, squatting down next to it. Harri kneeled down across from him, hands on her knees as she stared at the lamp.

"He said you didn't have chakra, but magic. I didn't believe him. I'm still not sure I do. But Naruto has a way of convincing people to believe in things that they otherwise wouldn't. So I suppose that the idea of an invisible guardian from another dimension who uses magic and not chakra isn't as far-fetched as it should be." Kakashi said, staring at the lamp between them, even though he couldn't see Harri.

But then he raised his head and looked at her, "Hi, My name's Kakashi Hatake. What's yours?"

Harri let out a small smile, looking down at her lamp as she shook her head before looking back up at Kakashi, "Harri Potter. Nice to meet you Kakashi."

There was silence as the two regarded each other, eyes calculating as they took the other in. While Harri had already done a check on Kakashi, back when the team was first formed, it was different when you could look at someone and have them look back at you.

The eyes were the windows to the soul after all.

"How old are you?" Kakashi's frank, random question made Harri rock back on her heels in surprise before a smirk crossed her face.

"Haven't you heard it's rude to ask a lady for her age?" she said in a teasing voice, fluidly standing up and giving a small smirk to Kakashi.

Kakashi scooped up the lamp and stood up as well, towering over her. A small part of her cursed the Dursley's again for making her short before she shoved that thought back down to stare back at Kakashi.

"Perhaps in your world. But in ours we're more focused on if the person is trying to kill us." He said in a mild voice, "You can't touch the lamp?"

Harri pursed her lips, discomforted by the change in topics, "Technically, I can. But it triggers pain that I feel in my soul. To most, it's completely impossible to hold it. I've got another line of defense against that though. It's a built in defensive mechanism basically. After being bound to the lamp for a significant amount of years, people become desperate. If I could touch the lamp, the curse wouldn't be much of an issue anymore. Because I can't touch it or pick it up, I can't move it. It's actually quite clever."

"What would it take to break the connection?"

"It's not possible. Not for anyone here. Maybe someone from where I come from, but here? No, it's not possible. Chakra and magic just don't interact in a way for it to be possible." Harri shut the idea down before it could even begin to take root.

Kakashi snorted a bit, "Don't let Naruto hear you say that. He'll break it just to show he can."

Harri raised her head to the sky and let out a breath, "He can't. I've tried. I've tried for years, in hundreds of different dimensions even, but it's not going to happen. For a variety of reasons that I don't feel privy to share." Harri finally answered.

"I will deal with Sakura, what she said was uncalled for." Kakashi finally said, turning and taking a few steps towards Tazuna's house before looking back at Harri.

She caught up to him and spoke as they walked, "You really don't have to. I am a freak." The last word was spoken bitterly and Kakashi shot her a glance.

"Just like Naruto isn't just a dead-last." It was spoken blandly, but Harri couldn't find any words to protest it. Because Naruto wasn't just a dead-last student, but she was a freak.

Right?

But Harri just kept quiet as the two walked back.

* * *

Naruto didn't return that night, nor the next day, which would have driven Harri insane if it hadn't been for Kakashi. He had kept Harri informed of where he was, and what he presumed the blond was doing. Eventually she had just returned to her lamp, not content, but willing to wait.

Plus she didn't want to deal with Sakura's distrustful but curious stares.

But whatever.

Harri sat, utterly bored, waiting for something to happen.

But nothing happened. Harri had a feeling that Kakashi had set her lamp down in the room they were sleeping in and had disappeared with his other two students, intent on teaching them something.

As usual, the longer spent in the lamp, the more time seemed to stretch. When Harri spent a lot of time in the lamp, it was negated, but after spending a lot of time outside the lamp, it caused an interesting transition.

It was mostly just a coping method, a way to make people go less insane while they were trapped in the lamp. It just made things confusing when Harri was summoned suddenly.

The lamp had made it felt like Harri had spent ages in it, but at the same time no time at all, so she kind of just stood there wobbling a bit, blinking and shaking her head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs.

The kunai headed towards her head made her wake up a lot faster.

"Sorry Harri! Could you help us though?" Naruto's question made her whip around, narrowing her eyes at the two boys.

It was slightly worrying that they were standing in an upside-down fishbowl mirror.

"What have you gotten yourselves into now?" she growled, then promptly hit the deck as a wave of senbon appeared out of the mirrors.

"Explanations later?" Naruto pleaded as he and Sasuke dodged another wave. Harri winced as she felt some pierce her skin, but ignored it for now. The injuries would probably disappear quickly.

"Come on Sasuke, let's try it one more time." Naruto said, rising to his feet and ignoring the senbon sticking out of him.

Sasuke just nodded and Harri watched curiously as they threw themselves against the mirrors and the figure that stood within.

Naruto landed on the ground, breathing heavy, Sasuke standing off to the side

When the figure in the glass left, looking at Sasuke who stood tall, Harri saw the eyes flicker towards Naruto on the ground. She pushed herself to her feet and practically launched herself forward.

There was a moment where everything was still. Naruto lay on the ground, Sasuke leaping determinedly to be in front of him. To most others, it would be an impossible move to get in front of the boys now.

But Harri wasn't most people.

Her hand dug into Sasuke's shoulder hard enough to leave a bruise as she threw him behind her. She could see the solitary visible eye widening at the sight, the panic that arose in them. But the senbon were already piercing her, and all Harri felt was _pain_.

Awkwardly, she fell to her knees, feeling the senbon in her right eye pierce her brain. It wasn't the worst pain she had ever felt, but it didn't change the fact that she had a piece of metal in her head. And that was disregarding the 11 other senbon in her right side, six of which were fatal on their own.

Without even a cough, due to the senbon piercing her cheek, Harri fell to her side, taking a final, shuddering breath, automatically curling up a bit, before letting out a final breath of air.

And while her body temporarily died, Harri sat up and looked on in worry at Naruto. She hated it when she temporarily died in front of someone she liked. Especially when she hadn't gotten around to warning them about the return.

But Harri winced when Naruto just stood there, looking down at the ground and shaking as a red aura started to surround him. The red aura wasn't Naruto's normal chakra, and Harri grimaced at realizing that it was the Kyuubi's chakra that was coursing through Naruto right now. The chakra caused his numerous little wounds to heal and to practically spit out the senbon embedded in him.

He charged at the reflection, arms outstretched, the red chakra surrounding him. The hunter-nin backed away nervously, his arm flinging out senbon at the charging Naruto, but the blond kept running at him, his nails resembling that of an animals, his eyes red with hatred.

Even though there were multiple copies of the hunter-nin, Naruto could apparently tell which one was the real one, because even through the panicked reactions of the opponent, Naruto crashed through the ice, a fist squarely in the crack in the mask.

It sent them flying backwards, skidding as he attempted to stop before he fell off the ending of the bridge.

His mask lay in pieces, a clear sign of the path his flying body had taken. As he unsteadily pushed himself of the ground, his hair covered his face. Finally standing up, in time to look up at the furious Naruto, the boy pushed his hair out of his face.

Naruto's fist, perhaps an inch from the face, froze. The Kyuubi's chakra fled in an instance, Naruto's fist dropping to his side as he took several steps away from the teenager.

"Haku?" the soft question betrayed what emotion Naruto's face no doubt held.

Harri struggled to bind her soul back to her body, trying to get it to heal itself faster. She just knew this was going to end especially badly, now that Naruto apparently knew the kid. Because he was Naruto and bad stuff seemed to just occur to him before he was able to turn the situation around.

The most detrimental injury was the one in her eye. And that was the one being the most stubborn. Head wounds always were, no matter how they were caused.

Sasuke was kneeling next to her body, hands hesitating to touch her, but there was an expression on his face that made Harri wonder at the cause behind it.

When one of the senbon fell out, he jerked back away from her body, mouth falling open. But when it remained the only one to fall out, Sasuke reached forward again. Grimacing, he grasped ahold of one of the less life-threatening senbon and yanked it out quickly.

Harri watched with curiosity as he yanked out another one, grimacing again. That would certainly help the process be faster. Idly, she wondered if he noticed the fact that she was healing those small wounds or if he was simply offering her mercy in her supposed death for sacrificing her life for his.

His hand twitched as he reached for the one in her neck, but he just pulled it out, letting it join the others in the pile he had made.

Cautiously, Harri reached out and joined her hand back with her body, wincing as she felt the pain spike through. Her hand twitched in her body as she pulled her hand back out, not wanting to rejoin only to be kicked out again.

Sasuke jerked back as he saw her hand move, but he took a deep breath, looking over to where Naruto and Haku were talking before turning back to her prone body and pulling out another senbon.

His sharingan was still active, but he turned it off as he continued with pulling out senbon. Distantly, they could hear Sakura talking to Tazuna as the two drew nearer.

"You could see her?" was Sasuke's only question as he kept his eyes on Harri's body.

Sakura sniffed, and nodded, letting go of Tazuna's hand to kneel next to her body, "I was really mean to her. But she saved you. And Naruto I suppose. Why are you pulling out the senbon?"

Sasuke didn't answer, but his hand did hesitate as he went to pull out another one, "She isn't like us, her hand has already twitched. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out she can come back."

Harri was watching closely, so she saw how Sakura paled, swallowed, and then seemed to shove all the fear and hesitation to the back of her mind, "How do you want me to help?"

Sasuke looked up at her with a dead-pan expression, "Pull out senbon. Carefully."

Sakura just bit her lip and nodded, small hands shaking as she reached for the closest senbon. Between the two of them, the rest were all taken out. Except for two.

The two looked at each other and Harri could just see the panic in their positions. As Sasuke reached for one, hand shaking just the slightest bit, a scream was heard.

Everyone snapped around to see Kakashi, his hand buried in Haku's chest. Zabuza looked confused, prideful, but at the same time there was a soft expression in his eyes that was ruthlessly pushed away.

Naruto was yelling something, or was that just the wind? Harri couldn't quite tell anymore as she stared at how Haku was struggling to breath.

Harri didn't hesitate anymore and dived for her body, fully rejoining with it, the pain racing through her as everything realigned. There was still two senbon left, the one in her eye and the one in her cheek, but Harri disregarded that, shoving that pain away as fire raced through her veins again, causing her to arch her back in an attempt to alleviate the pain.

It always hurt, every time. Every nerve was lit on fire, everything was shoved back into place ruthlessly, a square peg in a round hole.

Harri collapsed against the ground, breathing hard as she turned to her side, struggling to stand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sasuke and Sakura scramble away from her body.

Kakashi had moved away from Zabuza, his hand still in Haku's chest. As Harri pushed to her knees, she pulled out the one that had pierced her cheek, dropping it to the side as she spat out some blood. Even though she was blind in one eye still, she could see how Kakashi almost gently lay Haku down, how Haku took in one last breath and then let it out almost as a sigh.

Naruto was beyond himself, shaking with what Harri supposed to be grief. He was yelling at Zabuza as well, but Harri was more concentrating on the pale blue light that had just started to rise from Haku's chest.

It felt as though the world had frozen as Harri rocked back on her heels.

Death appeared, but it wasn't her Death, the one she was bound to.

It was the Shinigami, bloodthirsty grin present on his face as he reached for the small soul. Harri snarled as its hands started to encircle the soul.

"You can't have him." She said fiercely as she stumbled to her feet, viciously yanking out the senbon from her eye and letting it drop onto the ground.

His grin just rose a fraction higher, the bloodthirstiness rising just a tad. The knife in his mouth dripping with fresh blood.

_intruder. go home. My soul. mineminemineminemine. go home_

"You can't take him, he's got a future." She bit out, the corners of her mouth rising up in a literal snarl.

_not your area. not my master. stupid master. go home. my soul, mine!_

"I won't let you!"

The air grew simultaneously unbearably cold and hellishly hot as the Shinigami exerted his presence on Harri. All it did was stir up the Kyuubi even more in Naruto and Harri spared him a small glance before returning all attention to the Shinigami. The Kyuubi wasn't going to come out right now, not when Naruto was in the midst of ranting at Zabuza.

_not your jurisdiction. have no power here. my soul for the taking. whine to your pathetic servant. go home!_

"Haku, Haku if you want to live, you have to fight, come on Haku." Harri turned to the slowly appearing spirit of Haku. The longer she prevented the Shinigami from taking Haku's soul, the likelihood that he would be able to come back increase. But Haku shook his head the slightest, looking around before turning his focus on first the Shinigami then Harri. His head titled curiously, but all he did was give her a small peaceful smile, closing his eyes as he did so.

Then he turned away from her and resolutely took a step towards the Shinigami. In an instance, his clawed hands wrapped around Haku, the gentle kid's soul being compressed until it was back to being a small blue light.

"Leave his soul alone and put it back." Harri spoke through gritted teeth, taking a few stumbling steps toward the Shinigami.

_pitiful master. not worthy of title. no hunger. none at all. Pitifuluselessunworthygohomehomehome. go home. go home. GOHOME!_

Harri could feel something pull at her, pull at her magic, and Harri took a shuddering breath as she felt something in her start to give.

But her hand shot out, the lamp hitting her hand hard enough to whip it forward, the bones creaking and cracking in her wrist.

"Don't touch that." She snarled, an actual growl forcing itself out of her,fingers tight around her lamp. She could feel how it burned at her touch, how it felt as though something was scratching at her very soul, but Harri kept ahold of the metal.

The Shinigami's grin was practically righteous as it widened, his hands closing around Haku's soul with a viciousness that matched his grin.

Then both disappeared as Harri glared at the sight, her fingers clenched around her lamp. Then she walked to where Haku's body now lay, officially beyond anyone's saving.

She looked down at the kid who could have been great, who was great. And wanted to do something.

Instead, she slowly sank to her knees as vague sounds started to filter back in, like when a paused movie started up again in a slow-motion scene.

Distantly, she heard something about Gato, but ignored it in favour of staring at the lifeless body before her.

Was this world really that cruel? To kill children? To kill friends?

But the noise of the others stayed in the background, Harri only looking up as shoes started to approach her. Gato was approaching, eyes small and beady, and everyone else was frozen as they watched the business approach. And all Harri could feel was rage- hot, righteous fury surging through her as he walked closer. And as his foot swung back to kick Haku, Harri gave in.

The hand holding onto the lamp smacked down onto the incoming foot, magic literally blasting out in her anger.

Sparks flew out to the side as she blasted a hole straight through Gato's foot, the anger behind her magic instantly cauterizing it.

Gato screamed as he fell backwards, his cane falling to the side as he clutched at his foot.

"You would dare to desecrate the dead? Of someone who was far better than you could ever hope to be?" Harri whispered as she stood up, her hand tightening around her lamp before letting it drop to the ground, the pain at her soul becoming too much to handle. The clang made Gato flinch backwards and look up at her in terror.

"Shin..shini…shinigami." he whispered in utter terror.

Hari's lip curled as she looked down at him, "No, not the Shinigami. I'm something far, far worse than him." She promised, stepping around Haku and drawing near to Gato.

He scrambled backwards, blubbering and making excuses, but Harri was having none of it. There was a heaviness to the air that all but Harri felt as she approached the scum in front of her.

"I want to deal with him." A voice suddenly spoke up from behind her, making her pause mid-step. Zabuza limped over to her, arms hanging loosely by his side, murder written in his gaze as well, "Haku was my apprentice. You may take the idiots over there."

For a moment, Zabuza was afraid she was going to murder him as well as the others. But then a grin spread across her face that nearly spooked him. A grin full of teeth and promised blood. He sported it himself many times, but she was the embodiment of death. Her grin spoke only of death and suffering that had been seen for millennia and would continue to see it.

She lowered her arms to make a grand gesture towards Gato, bowing slightly in the process, "He's all yours." Harri stepped around Gato, merely smiling at him, making him flinch back as he tried to avoid her, before turning her attention towards the group standing frozen with fear behind him.

Harri did feel disappointed that she couldn't destroy Gato herself, but understood that Zabuza had a higher claim for revenge than her. She had never met Haku, could only guess as to how Naruto knew the kid, but Naruto had been devastated at Haku's death. As his master, it was only right she avenged Haku's death. It was also only fair that Zabuza finished off Gato, Haku had been Zabuza's apprentice for years.

Perhaps Zabuza would let her have a bit of him after he was done?

But that was later. For now, Harri wanted to deal with the group who thought they could stand in their way and threaten to take it all. Who dared to stand there and proclaim themselves as better. It wasn't like anyone would miss them anyways she bet. They were mercenaries, willing and happy to work for Gato. No one would miss them.

The men screamed as she tore them apart, glee filling her features as she let out her frustrations on them. They were nothing after all. Mere mortals who thought themselves important. Untouchable. Harri would just have to change that right now. They would feel the pain. There was plenty of magic that existed that wasn't Dark. Plenty to make them feel pain. To make them suffer. Blood and gore spattered across her face as she tore through them, making each one suffer more than the one before.

"Harri. Stop." The two word's cut through Harri's glee and she paused in her destruction. Curious, she turned her head to see Naruto standing there, pale and shaky, but firm.

He swallowed, and then took a step forwards, "You need to stop I think."

Her head tilted the slightest as her eyes narrowed, "Why should I? What makes their life deserving?" one more died in a painful fashion.

"They're human too. Even if they've made bad choices. And you're not a god to decide whether they live or die." He said in a small voice. And yet it rang with conviction and his belief in his ideals.

Harri looked at him as he stood there, blood splatter across his front, wounds doting across his small frame, and dropped her hands.

He was small, but he stood tall against her gaze, not flinching at all.

"As you wish, my master." she finally intoned softly, her head inclining just the slightest towards him. She dropped her hands to her side and the few remaining bandits fled. Regardless of anything else that happened, they knew that they had to get away from the battlefield. Away from her and her wrath. She who felt like Death itself.

Slowly, Harri started to reel back in the aura that she had let out rather savagely, the heaviness that came with the Death aura slowly filtering away until the only thing left was just the unease that permeated the air.

"Can you heal Zabuza?" was Naruto' next question.

"I can try." She replied, walking away from the mess she had left behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tazuna flinch slightly away from her before visibly steeling himself. He could handle shinobi. He could handle someone who appeared out of nowhere and felt like death. Maybe.

Zabuza was eyeing her, but with a mix of apprehension and respect. Gato, what was left of him at least, lay behind him. Away from Haku.

"May I see them?"

He eyed her a moment longer, then grunted at her, looking away. Harri took that to mean yes and took another step forward, her arm raised.

"_Brakium Emendo. Episkey." _She intoned as some of his wounds closed up over themselves. Hari pulled out the kunai in his shoulder blades and then attempted to heal them. There was no obvious change, but some of the pain left Zabuza's face and his arms started responding to his wishes again.

"Magic and chakra are like parallel things I believe. Forcing the two to interact is most likely nigh on impossible. I can only deal with the most superficial of things." She said in a level voice, ignoring how those surrounding her flinched at her voice.

"Can you heal Sasuke too?" Naruto spoke up when no one said anything in reply to Harri's comment.

Hari turned lightly towards the small group she had left behind, unsurprised to see the three shaking slightly. She tilted her head in question, and while he flinched, he also gave a hesitant nod.

Harri ignored the others as she approached Sasuke and waved her hand over his various cuts, watching them stitch themselves back together.

"Everyone attack!" the childish voice only made the group tense, but when it was revealed to be Inari with a pot on his head, along with the villagers behind him, the group relaxed.

"Wait, it's all over?" Inari let his arm with his makeshift club fall, looking at everyone in confusion. But his arrival, and the villagers, helped relax everyone even more.

"Come on everybody, let's head back to Tazuna's." Kakashi said tiredly as he started to limp back towards the house. For a moment, everyone stared after him in surprise at his overall casualness of what had just happened. But Sakura and Tazuna dutifully followed a second later, calling out to the cheering villagers.

Sasuke waited for Naruto to catch up before beginning to follow, which left Harri and Zabuza to stand there staring after them.

The villagers had surged forward, surrounding the group as they congratulated all of them. There were some looks given in their direction, but Kakashi steered everyone's attention away from them.

"Come on Zabuza. Otherwise Naruto will come after us, and I'm not in the mood for more shouting." Harri eventually said with a sigh as she followed after the group, now headed towards the house to celebrate more.

Harri had only taken a few dozen steps before realizing that Zabuza wasn't next to her. When she turned around, ready to call for him again, she stopped at seeing him standing next to Haku's body.

Harri walked up to him and gazed at the kid she hadn't met.

"Come on. Let's find a good place to bury him. In a clearing in the woods?" Harri offered. Zabuza nodded jerkily and knelt down next to his apprentice.

"Could you also grab that lamp? I want to be able to help you find a spot for him." She asked as he reached for the body. Zabuza paused, but did reach for the lamp as well, tucking it into a pocket, before continuing for Haku's body.

Once he had the body settled in his arms, he strode off, not waiting for Harri.

* * *

The clearing they found was quiet. Peaceful. It overlooked the village and the sea.

Harri had let Zabuza dig the grave himself when he just gave her a look, but did transfigure some flowers for the newly covered grave.

Neither of them said anything, the only sounds being the vague ones of cheering and normal outdoor sounds, but neither seemed inclined to say anything.

Eventually Naruto and the others joined them, solemn as well as they paid their respects.

"I've decided something." Naruto broke the silence, causing everyone to look at him, "I'm going to carve my own path. I'm going to run straight and true in life, looking after my friends, and I won't stop! I'm going to take care of my precious people and stay on my path."

Everybody smiled a bit at that, if nothing else for his enthusiasm. Although Zabuza just gave him a slightly less heated glare than usual.

"Alright, come on you guys, time to head back." Kakashi announced, eye-smiling as he pointed back towards Tazuna's house. There was only a little grumbling from Naruto, but dutifully he started to head back, casting a look at Harri before he went.

Harri could tell he wanted to say something, but Kakashi was shooing him off before he could ask it. So he went with only a frustrated glance backwards.

When Kakashi turned towards her next, she held her hands up, "Hey, I can tell when you're trying for subtlety, I'll just be in my lamp." She gave a little half wave to Zabuza before returning to the lamp, wincing a bit as it made its' anger clear towards her regarding her touching the lamp.

"Oh shut it you cranky old piece of crap." She muttered towards the walls.

Then with nothing else to do, she curled up on one of the cushions, staring at the wall.

* * *

There was a slight tugging, and Harri exited to see Naruto sitting on the roof of Tazuna's home, looking out over the distance.

Without saying anything, Harri sat next to him, looking up at the night sky. The stars twinkled like what she was used to, but none of the few constellations she knew were visible in the sky.

"I understand why people think I'm a monster. I get why I'm not too. I don't need to know everything about your past, 'cause I doubt you'll share it with me, but at the same time, how can you be there and say that it's okay to be a freak while telling me I'm not a monster?" Naruto started out, voice quiet for once. He set the lamp down to the side, leaning back against the roof as well.

"You're Ramen-Talk is getting better." Harri said as a small laugh slipped out, "I embody Death. In my home world, I have the power to take souls. I am a freak."

"You're not. You're Harri, who does have weird powers, but from your view, I bet we do too. But we aren't freaks are we?"

When Harri sucked in a breath to say something, Naruto just kept on going.

"And if your people called you a freak, then they're just stupid." He said stubbornly.

Harri snorted, "My friends and I used to call the wizarding world in general sheeple. Evidenced by their complete lack of common sense concerning anything even remotely important."

"Then that means you aren't a freak." Naruto said resolutely, rolling over to look at Harri. She looked over at him with a twist of a smile to her lips.

"You aren't a monster, and I'm not a freak." Harri agreed a bit dryly, but smiling, "Shake on it? Don't ever forget it."

Naruto grinned at her, sitting up in his excitement, "Deal!" he shouted for practically the whole world to hear, shaking Harri's outstretched hand vigorously.

"Go to sleep!" came from the house beneath them, multiple people yelling it.

Naruto just grinned sheepishly and laid back down on the roof next to Harri.

**A/N::** Oh my freaking heck. Sorry this took me six months to update. Yesh. I'm aiming for six months and not a day late, but it might be too late by the time I get there.

Sometimes late at night, I ramble. Sorry.

Anyways, the arc is done. And I'll be honest, I was working two different word documents for different parts of the story (not mentioning how many other drafts there are sitting on my computer) so the combination point of the two documents is weird. And I took a short cut. But I honestly didn't want to write anymore of that specific scene.

Also, time gets a little weird here, I'm taking liberties with it.

Also, how'd you like who died and who didn't? I felt a little bad, but I made the decision several months ago, and I wanted to not write Haku living, 'cause everyone does that? Not really, I don't even really remember my reasoning why anymore, whoops.

Hope everyone enjoyed it!


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